This book examines the most significant factors accounting for the decline of union density during the neoliberal period, focusing on the case of Mexico. Union density, which reflects the representation of labor unions in the employed labor force, is one of the main indicators of union strength. The relation of organized labor with the state and the political system are also considered. The analysis is framed within a structure concentrated on cyclical, structural and political-institutional factors linked to labor union performance. Over the last decades, the transformations brought about by neoliberalism and democratization reshaped many features of the domestic political and economic model in Mexico. Therefore, an examination of these developments regarding the repercussions of the factors linked to union density decline is crucial.
The purpose of this thesis is to assess the most significant factors accounting for the decline of trade union density during the period 1984-2006, specifically the case of Mexico. Union density, which reflects the representation of unions in the employed labour force, is taken as one of the main indicators of trade unions' strength. Other aspects are also considered, such as the relation of organised labour with the state and the political system. The analysis is framed within a structure concentrated on cyclical, structural and political-institutional factors linked to trade union performance. In the period studied, the transformations brought about by neoliberalism and democratisation reshaped many features of the domestic political and economic model. Thus, an examination of these developments, regarding the repercussions on the factors linked to union density decline, is crucial. The problem In the last quarter of the 20th century, trade unions around the world faced numerous difficulties in overcoming the challenges raised by economic and political transformations which reshaped the world of labour. For example, labour unions lost ground as major actors in the political and labour realms, compared with their privileged position over the post-war period. Similarly, union representation within the employed labour force has declined concurrently with the deterioration of real wages, fringe benefits, and social provisions. Collective labour contracts were dismantled during the f1exibilisation of labour. Furthermore, organised labour has seen its infl uence reduced in the political sphere, which has created an unfavourable outcome for workers. The collective bargaining power of labour unions before employers has also eroded because of the ease with which capital can relocate production. In sum, organised labour has seen its position reduced in various spheres and has faced a manifold crisis. Significant academic research has demonstrated the decline of trade unions in the last decades. In a wide study covering 92 countries, the International Labour Organisation ILO (1998) demonstrated that during the 1980s and 1990s the share of unionised workers with respect to the labour force diminished in most of the countries. According to this report, between 1985 and 1995 unionisation declined in 87 of 92 countries around the world. Furthermore, in only 14 of these countries were union density rates higher than 50% and in more than half, they were less than 20%. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 0 ECD (1997,2004 and 2009) has also published numerous reports on the topic in which it can be seen that the expansion of union density in the employed labour force is the exception, not the rule, in the majority of the countries of this organisation. Although there is a consensus in academia that trade unions and workers have seen a detrimental panorama in recent decades, this is not the case regarding the factors explaining the regression of trade unions which appear divergent in each country and typically depend on national institutions, making necessary the study of individual cases. There are different explanations for union density decline. For instance, the advance of the production system; the implementation of technology in the workplace, which has reduced the number of employees; changes in employment composition; i.e., the decline of industry and the rise of services; the lack of identification with unions among new workers largely composed by the young and by females; the role of the state, employers and corporations, and especially the inefficiency of union leadership, among others. In addition, economic and social policies and the dismantling of corporatist structures are also considered in this regard. In view of that multiplicity of factors, it is crucial to establish those most relevant to the decline of labour union density. However, as can be seen, factors relating to the decline of unions are heterogeneous and merit proper classification as well as an explanation of their relevance in specific cases.
The advent of neoliberalism and globalization in modern Mexico caused a shift in the traditional labor discourse which had governed labor relations for most of the 20th century. In its place came a new economic model with higher demands for productivity and a more democratic labor sector. These changes contributed greatly to the deterioration of the Confederacion de Trabajadores Mexicanos (CTM), the largest labor confederation in Mexico for over sixty years.
Listen to the podcast about Cory Blad's chapter in this book 'Searching for Saviors: Economic Adversities and the Challenge of Political Legitimacy in the Neoliberal Era'. This book seeks to explore welfare responses by questioning and going beyond the assumptions found in Esping-Andersen’s (1990) broad typologies of welfare capitalism. Specifically, the project seeks to reflect how the state engages, and creates general institutionalized responses to, market mechanisms and how such responses have created path dependencies in how states approach problems of inequality. Moreover, if the neoliberal era is defined as the dissemination and extension of market values to all forms of state institutions and social action, the need arises to critically investigate not only the embeddedness of such values and modes of thought in different contexts and institutional forms, but responses and modes of resistance arising from practice that might point to new forms of resilience.
In recent decades, Latin American countries have sought to modernize their labor market institutions to remain competitive in the face of increasing globalization. This book evaluates the impact of such neoliberal reforms on labor movements and workers’ rights in the region through comparative analyses of labor politics in Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. Using these five key cases, the authors assess the capacity of workers and working-class organizations to advance their demands and bring about a more just distribution of economic gains in an era in which capital has reasserted its power on a global scale. In particular, their findings challenge the purported benefits of labor market flexibility—the freedom of employers to adjust their workforces as needed—which has been touted as a way to reduce income inequality and unemployment. In-depth case studies show how flexibilization as well as privatization, trade liberalization, and economic deregulation have undermined organized labor in all of these countries, leading to the current internal fragmentation of unions and their inability to promote counterreforms or increase collective bargaining. This assessment concludes that even with substantial variation among countries in how reforms have been implemented, most workers in the region have experienced increasing precarity, informal employment, and weaker labor movements. This book provides vital insights into whether these movements have the potential to regain influence and represent working people’s interests effectively in the future.
Industrial policy is tainted with bad reputation among policymakers and academics and is often viewed as the road to perdition for developing economies. Yet the success of the Asian Miracles with industrial policy stands as an uncomfortable story that many ignore or claim it cannot be replicated. Using a theory and empirical evidence, we argue that one can learn more from miracles than failures. We suggest three key principles behind their success: (i) the support of domestic producers in sophisticated industries, beyond the initial comparative advantage; (ii) export orientation; and (iii) the pursuit of fierce competition with strict accountability.
Anchored in the principles of the free-market economics, 'neoliberalism' has been associated with such different political leaders as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Augusto Pinochet, and Junichiro Koizumi. In its heyday during the late 1990s, neoliberalism emerged as the world's dominant economic paradigm stretching from the Anglo-American heartlands of capitalism to the former communist bloc all the way to the developing regions of the global South. At the dawn of the new century, however, neoliberalism has been discredited as the global economy, built on its principles, has been shaken to its core by a financial calamity not seen since the dark years of the 1930s. So is neoliberalism doomed or will it regain its former glory? Will reform-minded G-20 leaders embark on a genuine new course or try to claw their way back to the neoliberal glory days of the Roaring Nineties? Is there a viable alternative to neoliberalism? Exploring the origins, core claims, and considerable variations of neoliberalism, this Very Short Introduction offers a concise and accessible introduction to one of the most debated 'isms' of our time. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Winner, 2016 Distinguished Contribution to Research Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association Latino/a Section The intimate stories of 147 deportees that exposes the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportations in the U.S. The United States currently is deporting more people than ever before: 4 million people have been deported since 1997 –twice as many as all people deported prior to 1996. There is a disturbing pattern in the population deported: 97% of deportees are sent to Latin America or the Caribbean, and 88% are men, many of whom were originally detained through the U.S. criminal justice system. Weaving together hard-hitting critique and moving first-person testimonials, Deported tells the intimate stories of people caught in an immigration law enforcement dragnet that serves the aims of global capitalism. Tanya Golash-Boza uses the stories of 147 of these deportees to explore the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportation in the United States, showing how this crisis is embedded in economic restructuring, neoliberal reforms, and the disproportionate criminalization of black and Latino men. In the United States, outsourcing creates service sector jobs and more of a need for the unskilled jobs that attract immigrants looking for new opportunities, but it also leads to deindustrialization, decline in urban communities, and, consequently, heavy policing. Many immigrants are exposed to the same racial profiling and policing as native-born blacks and Latinos. Unlike the native-born, though, when immigrants enter the criminal justice system, deportation is often their only way out. Ultimately, Golash-Boza argues that deportation has become a state strategy of social control, both in the United States and in the many countries that receive deportees.
