The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement
This article examines the associational and societal foundations of structural power. A case study of the ten-year-long history of the Unión Portuaria de Chile is analysed with a focus on a critical juncture in 2012–2014. The Chilean dockworker case is an emblematic example of trade union movement r...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
McMaster University Library Press
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Global Labour Journal |
| Online Access: | https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/4236 |
| _version_ | 1798029958877020160 |
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| author | Katy Fox-Hodess Camilo Santibáñez Rebolledo |
| author_facet | Katy Fox-Hodess Camilo Santibáñez Rebolledo |
| author_sort | Katy Fox-Hodess |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the associational and societal foundations of structural power. A case study
of the ten-year-long history of the Unión Portuaria de Chile is analysed with a focus on a critical
juncture in 2012–2014. The Chilean dockworker case is an emblematic example of trade union
movement revitalisation via strikes of strategically positioned workers. Yet ethnographic research
with the organisation suggests that the role it has come to play in the country was only possible as
a result of intensive long-term organising efforts to develop a high degree of internal unity at
multiple scales, as well as sustained alliances with external actors. As a result, the authors argue that
the most economistic accounts of worker power and trade union movement revitalisation are
analytically insufficient and would benefit from greater attention to associational and societal
dimensions of power, even among the most strategically positioned workers.
KEYWORDS: trade union revitalisation; structural power; associational power; strategic position; dockworkers |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:33:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c0a82bafd1d4925b095be13358ebc73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1918-6711 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:33:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | McMaster University Library Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Labour Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c0a82bafd1d4925b095be13358ebc732022-12-22T04:06:56ZengMcMaster University Library PressGlobal Labour Journal1918-67112020-09-0111310.15173/glj.v11i3.4236The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker MovementKaty Fox-Hodess0Camilo Santibáñez Rebolledo1University of SheffieldInstituto de Estudios Internacionales-Universidad Arturo Prat and Universidad de Santiago de ChileThis article examines the associational and societal foundations of structural power. A case study of the ten-year-long history of the Unión Portuaria de Chile is analysed with a focus on a critical juncture in 2012–2014. The Chilean dockworker case is an emblematic example of trade union movement revitalisation via strikes of strategically positioned workers. Yet ethnographic research with the organisation suggests that the role it has come to play in the country was only possible as a result of intensive long-term organising efforts to develop a high degree of internal unity at multiple scales, as well as sustained alliances with external actors. As a result, the authors argue that the most economistic accounts of worker power and trade union movement revitalisation are analytically insufficient and would benefit from greater attention to associational and societal dimensions of power, even among the most strategically positioned workers. KEYWORDS: trade union revitalisation; structural power; associational power; strategic position; dockworkershttps://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/4236 |
| spellingShingle | Katy Fox-Hodess Camilo Santibáñez Rebolledo The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement Global Labour Journal |
| title | The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement |
| title_full | The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement |
| title_fullStr | The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement |
| title_short | The Social Foundations of Structural Power: Strategic Position, Worker Unity and External Alliances in the Making of the Chilean Dockworker Movement |
| title_sort | social foundations of structural power strategic position worker unity and external alliances in the making of the chilean dockworker movement |
| url | https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/4236 |
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