Abstract

BENSUSAN, Graciela  and  SUBINAS, Marta. Representation and Mediation in the Workplace: Actors, Resources and Strategies. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2014, vol.59, n.220, pp.55-80. ISSN 0185-1918.

In a global context hostile to traditional labor unions' fare in defense of workers' rights, union representatives have had to innovate in their strategies and recourse to power while having acquired new allies, such as human rights NGOs. These changes complicate the classic examination of Hanna F. Pitkin's concept of representation and Philippe Schmitter's corporatism, and provide a point of departure from which to study several types of interaction and representation developed around the milieu of labor, illustrated by Mexican and Central American cases. The main argument is that, whereas traditionally labor-unions have held the monopoly over formal representation of interests within the realm of labor, this kind of mediation has incrementally lost strength in the context of neoliberal and global economics, which has impelled unions to renew their abilities, strategies and power resources.

Keywords : representation; mediation; corporatism; labor unions; labor rights.

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