Work, trade unionism and social conflict in leather shoe plant complex of Franca-SP between 1950 and 1980

Abstract

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, in a national context of industrial expansion, urban growth and demographic concentration in towns, the city of Franca-SP consolidated its position as the main export center for men's leather-made shoes. Exports began in the 1970s, with American customers as the main market. The development in the sector created a complex of leather-shoe plants shaped by different kinds of producers of raw-materials and shoes components, especially tanneries and rubber goods. One of the main characteristics of this complex was the heterogeneity of size and technology employed by the plants. This industrial development turned the city into an important destination for migrants and thousands of former rural workers moved to Franca in search of jobs and better living conditions. Thus, the main goal of the thesis is the analysis of the transformation in production processes, work relations and the making of the working class during this period. The study focused on the daily experiences of male and female workers who dedicated long years of their lives to leather, shoes and the production of their components. I tried to understand the characteristics and the impact of technological transformations on the workforce and the formation of manpower dedicated to the control of other workers' job time, on working conditions and on experiences in common, essential ingredients for the making of a class identity centered on shared interests. At the end, I interpreted the social conflicts that arose in the work environment through the analysis of various strategies developed by workers to produce less than they were able, what allowed them to widen the idea of class struggle, as we understand the productive sphere as a privileged space for interpreting the many forms of working-class resistance. Through the examination of lawsuits related to labor topics initiated by workers, I verified that the Labor Courts constituted a privileged space for settling disagreements between workers and capitalists, for assuring the rights of workers frequently denied by companies and, not rarely, for imposing limits on the will of bosses and other hierarchical superiors. (AU)