Workers of Flexible Factories: Region, Trade union and Class in Brazil's Automotive Industry

Abstract

This article discusses the economic background and changes of labour relations in the Brazilian car industry from the 1990s onwards, with a particular focus on the southern state of Rio de Janeiro. It uses the case studies of Volkswagen and PSA-Peugeot Citroën’s assembly plants to demonstrate how location related factors have played a decisive role in productive restructuring processes, with repercussions on class formation, professional training and trade union action. The authors especially stress the difficulties of trade union organisation in this context, and show how new workers have become rapidly involved in political mobilisation.