This article describes the birth of the institution Dieese, created with the sole purpose of carrying out research from the perspective of the working class. Dieese seeks to produce scientifically based knowledge in support of workers' demands for more equitable income distribution. This article links historical turning points affecting Brazilian society to the institution's major research projects and activities. Thus, the various studies (inflation, cost of living, the staple goods index, the minimum wage, wage policy, employment/unemployment and education) appear chronologically within the history of Dieese and reflect the challenges facing the working class at each particular moment.
labor statistics; unionism and negotiation; social research