The outcome of different bargaining models: the effects on wages, employment and the employment mix

The paper analyses data on wages, employment and labour composition in the Uruguayan manufacturing sector during 1985-1999 in order to get some evidence on the effects of union action on these variables. The whole period is first studied using a model in which no assumptions on the underlying bargaining model are made. The results support the hypothesis of two different bargaining frameworks in the 80s and 90s. Therefore, a right-tomanage bargaining model is specified for the 80s and a recursive contracts model for the 90s. Union effects are such that while in the 80s the effect of trade unions were to increase wages and hence decrease employment, in the nineties they moderated wage demands in exchange of more job stability. They not only managed to have a positive direct effect on employment but also to buffer the negative effects of increased openness and demand fluctuations on employment. The existence of unions also had an impact on labour composition, favouring a higher share of non-production workers in total employment. The result can be linked to the fact that firms moved to more capital intensive – or at least more skilled labour intensivetechnologies to avoid union costs. A final finding is related to the fact that the change in the Uruguayan bargaining regime at the beginning of the 90s – by which the mandatory extension of contracts vanished – favoured a more decentralised negotiation scheme and thus ended with the homogenous impact found in the 80s, since coordination in bargaining was lost.

The impact of unions on the economic performance of firms

This study examines the impact of unionization at the industry level and of the degree of centralization in bargaining – the industry or the firm - on wages and on the economic performance of firms within the manufacturing sector in Uruguay, using a panel of establishments for the period 1988-1995. The model, estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments, used controls for the degree of exposure to international and regional competition, and a set of industry and firm characteristics. The main findings point at unionization increasing wages and employment; promoting investment due to the firms substituting labor by capital; being organized in those plants with higher rate of profits, but promoting increases in productivity and preventing profitability increases. Given the negative effect of unionization at the industry level on the rate of growth of profitability of firms, results also suggest that unions tended to organize and to be stronger in those sectors in which extra rents were higher due to monopoly power. The evidence also points at firm-level negotiations taking into account the interests of both parties – workers and managers - so that enhanced productivity and probably survival were achieved together with lower rates of wage inflation; substitution of labor by capital and lower profits.

Metastatic Uterine Leiomyosarcoma in the Upper Buccal Gingiva Misdiagnosed as an Epulis

Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare tumor constituting 1% of all uterine malignancies. This sarcoma demonstrates an aggressive growth pattern with an high rate of recurrence with hematologic dissemination; the most common sites are lung, liver, and peritoneal cavity, head and neck district being rarely interested. Only other four cases of metastasis in the oral cavity have been previously described. The treatment of choice is surgery and the use of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation has limited impact on clinical outcome. In case of metastases, surgical excision can be performed considering extent of disease, number and type of distant lesions, disease free interval from the initial diagnosis to the time of metastases, and expected life span. We illustrate a case of uterine LMS metastasis in the upper buccal gingiva that occurred during chemotherapy in a 63-year-old woman that underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for a diagnosis of LMS staged as pT2bN0 and that developed lung metastases eight months after primary treatment. Surgical excision of the oral mass (previously misdiagnosed as epulis at a dental center) and contemporary reconstruction with pedicled temporalis muscle flap was performed in order to improve quality of life. Even if resection was achieved in free margins, "local" relapse was observed 5 months after surgery

Naso-ethmoidal phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor: a rare tumor site for an uncommon paraneoplastic syndrome

Mesenchymal Phosphaturic Tumors (MPTs) are the most common cause of an uncommon paraneoplastic syndrome known as Tumor Induced Osteomalacia (TIO). They typically occur in soft tissues and bone and in less than 5% in the head and neck region where the naso-ethmoidal is rarely involved. The presentation of the case includes also the analysis of the expression by RT-PCR of two “phosphatonins” that are known to be involved in the development of the syndrome. For the rarity of MPTs in the head and neck, otolaryngologists and maxillofacial surgeons might not be familiar with these tumors and with TIO whose knowledge is mandatory for the appropriate clinical work-up and treatment of the affected patients

Use of systemic and in situ lactoferrin in MRONJ surgical management: proposal for a therapeutic solution

Aim: Lactoferrin (Lf) is an antimicrobial and iron chelator glycoprotein contained in exocrine secretion, including saliva, and in secondary granules of neutrophil granulocytes. Lf performs its antibacterial and antiviral action through two pathways: the first deprives bacteria of the iron they need for their reproduction and for biofilm formation; the second contributes to restore the inflammatory homeostasis which is essential for tissue health modulating the level of cytokines, like IL-6. The study intends to propose the use of systemic and in situ Lf effectiveness in the healing of oral mucosa and bone tissue affected by medication-related ostenecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), after surgical excision or spontaneous elimination of necrotic bone