The sweetness of the fruit and the gall of labor conflict: labor’s trade union of canning industry, in the city of Pelotas (RS)

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable canning industry, in the city of Pelotas (RS), used to be the largest employer in the city. Since the late 1980s, the sector experienced the closure of most companies as a result of technological and managerial rationalization process. Then, unemployment turned into a greater economic vulnerability and political fragilization of workers. The article seeks to understand how the transformations in that industry have impacted on the labor’s union performance of the category, which is considered as one of the most combative in the region. It is a research developed from documentary sources along with workers, trade unionists and entrepreneurs to understand the reasons for labor conflicts intensification and the trade union position in the face of new challenges of the job world.