Wal-Mart Workers in Chile: A Case of Union Democracy, Militancy and Strategic Capacity

• In Event: 470 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Paper Session. Striking for Justice in Fast Food, Retail, and Home Care: Implications for the Broader Labor Movement

Abstract

In the United States, Wal-Mart is the most anti-union employer in the country. However, Wal-Mart is unionized in nearly all of its global operations. Chile is a particularly striking case, because it is considered as one of the primary sites for the neoliberal experiment. Yet, a vast majority of Chilean Wal-Mart workers are unionized and more importantly, winning significant victories against the company in terms of wages, benefits, and respect on the job. This paper explores the independent unions at Wal-Mart Chile and describes their different tactics, strategies, and models of unionism.

Author

• Carolina Bank Munoz, City University of New York-Brooklyn College and Graduate Center