It has long been argued that the organization of the U.S. health care system is shaped by the struggles between capital and labor, and this relationship is of increasing significance today. Transformations from an industrial to a service economy, rising insurance costs, neoliberal social policies, and decreased labor union power have increased the number of Americans with reduced access to health care, especially for service workers and women. This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how workers in two leading unions in the “new” unionism movement, the Retail, Wholesale, and Distribution Service Union (RWDSU) and the United Steelworkers (USW) in urban Central Appalachia, characterize union membership and economic (and benefit) transformations that threaten security for working and middle class families. Using health care as a case study, this dissertation demonstrates the ways in which economic transformations are making health care less affordable for working and middle class families. Through a discussion of the importance of union membership that highlights job protection in the face of the expansion and increasing feminization of service work and the decline in work sponsored benefits, this dissertation details how these processes reduce access to and affordability of health care. In so doing, this research highlights individual pragmatic action and broader union activism in seeking economic and health security for their families. More broadly, new unionism tactics are described in the actions of a Central Labor Council as it seeks to renew community alliances and link rank-and-file concerns of job security to current labor issues, including the Employee Free Choice Act and Right-to-Work legislation, on local, state, and national levels. This dissertation links access to health care problems in this community to broader national issues (e.g. job protection, service work, and outsourcing) and highlights how union members, individually and collectively, are participating in “new” unionism tactics to maintain job security and secure resources, including health care, for their families.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:23:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2767761 bytes, checksum: ac58e327217b02dcec74da9dc1676d4f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study aims to present an approach of how the new unionism contributed to the change in the political culture of the leaders in commerce unionism João Pessoa, between 1986 and 1993. Historical context in which the authentic unionism emerged provided significant changes in the relationship between capital and work from the disruption to the ancient practice of making unionism during the military dictatorship. We believe that this movement was primarily responsible for the change in behavior of the new union leaders that category of workers where there was a prevailing culture of harmony between antagonistic classes. This new unionism will bring out a union opposition to fight what became known as pelegas practices. From an analysis of the political practices of the "old unionism" and change the political culture in commerce unionism João Pessoa. Understand how political culture not only the practices and attitudes of social agents, but these agents have relationships with symbolic elements, whether the acceptance or rejection and certain power projects in the political structure. As theoretical foundation, we will use the concepts of political culture and class identity in order to understand the behavior of union leaders Category shopkeeper. The sources used were built on research papers, oral reports, official documents and works of Brazilian historiography. / Este estudo tem por finalidade fazer uma abordagem de como o novo sindicalismo contribuiu para a mudança de cultura política das lideranças do sindicalismo comerciário de João Pessoa, entre 1986 e 1993. O contexto histórico em que surgiu o sindicalismo autêntico proporcionou mudanças significativas nas relações entre capital e trabalho a partir das rupturas com as antigas práticas de se fazer sindicalismo durante a ditadura militar. Acreditamos que este movimento foi o principal responsável pela mudança de comportamento dos novos dirigentes sindicais daquela categoria de trabalhadores onde predominava uma cultura de harmonia entre as classes antagônicas. Esse novo sindicalismo vai fazer emergir uma oposição sindical no combate ao que ficou conhecido como práticas pelegas. A partir de uma análise entre as práticas políticas do chamado velho sindicalismo e, mudança de cultura política no sindicalismo comerciário de João Pessoa. Entendemos como cultura política não só as práticas e atitudes dos agentes sociais, mas as relações que esses agentes têm com os elementos simbólicos, sejam pela aceitação e ou pela rejeição a determinados projetos de poder na estrutura política. Como fundamentação teórica, utilizaremos os conceitos de cultura política e identidade de classe visando entender o comportamento dos dirigentes sindicais da categoria comerciária. As fontes utilizadas foram construídas em pesquisa em jornais, relatos orais, documentos oficiais e obras da historiografia brasileira.

<p>This is a case study of the alternative labour union organization <em>Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina </em>(CTA) in Argentina and the most recent project under process striving for system change, named the Constituyente Social. The case under study is used to illustrate the perception of power in relation to aspirations for societal change among the left in Latin America. The overall struggle of the CTA and the Constituyente Social is to create a more just society based on a deepening of democracy, more participatory in character. Two understandings of power are presented, on the one hand is the <em>taking</em> power concept, inherited from the political struggles where the belief is that power needs to be <em>taken</em> from the elite in order to succeed with structural change in society. On the other hand is the <em>creating </em>power perception, best exemplified with the Zapatista movement in Mexico. There is no conquering of power in this view, but a creation and strengthening of power among the masses. The theoretical chapter presents a view that unites these two perceptions, arguing for the need to intersect the vertical (power taking) and the horizontal (power creating) struggles. The Constituyente Social is analyzed in relation to this intersection, providing concrete examples of where the two power perceptions are utilized, sometimes simultaneously. The overall conclusion is that the dichotomization usually done between the two understandings of power is incomplete and may even damage the struggle for societal change.</p>

This is a case study of the alternative labour union organization Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina (CTA) in Argentina and the most recent project under process striving for system change, named the Constituyente Social. The case under study is used to illustrate the perception of power in relation to aspirations for societal change among the left in Latin America. The overall struggle of the CTA and the Constituyente Social is to create a more just society based on a deepening of democracy, more participatory in character. Two understandings of power are presented, on the one hand is the taking power concept, inherited from the political struggles where the belief is that power needs to be taken from the elite in order to succeed with structural change in society. On the other hand is the creating power perception, best exemplified with the Zapatista movement in Mexico. There is no conquering of power in this view, but a creation and strengthening of power among the masses. The theoretical chapter presents a view that unites these two perceptions, arguing for the need to intersect the vertical (power taking) and the horizontal (power creating) struggles. The Constituyente Social is analyzed in relation to this intersection, providing concrete examples of where the two power perceptions are utilized, sometimes simultaneously. The overall conclusion is that the dichotomization usually done between the two understandings of power is incomplete and may even damage the struggle for societal change.