Abstract
This paper analyses episodes in the recent history of the Trade Unions' struggle in defense of specific rules governing labor relations in Brazil, Sweden, Germany and USA. It is accepted that, in spite of the impact of swings in economy and labour market on the ability of workers' concerted action in defense of their interests, some rights are more susceptible than others, depending on the country. This variation occurs even in similar economic environments, and is subject to the same general trends. The hypothesis is that reasons other than economic are relevant in the definition of certain agendas, in the intensity of preferences expressed by social actors and, consequently, in the persistence of specific rights. Lying at the threshold of history and sociology, the present approach has as its starting point the analysis of Richard Locke and Kathleen Thelen (1998). They suggest that the impact of pressures for change in labour relations can affect not only the interests of the actors, but also the symbolic universe within which workers form their identities. The research about Brazil is based on documents produced by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese) and by the Workers' Unitary Central (CUT), a large union which was pivotal during the analyzed period. The analyses of the remaining cases were based on bibliographic sources. Findings from analyzing specific moments of the labor conflict in different countries in the neoliberal era are that the force of tradition, associated with the baseline project of unionism in every context, contributed to the prevalence of some agendas and determined the intensity of resistance within each national setting.
Key-words:
trade unionism; labor law; labour relations; regulation; deregulation