Unions, Markets, and Democracy in Latin America

[Excerpt] In the 1990s scholars of Latin America moved from a concern with democratization to a focus on the implementation of market economic reforms. With this shift, the appreciation of labor unions\u27 value to society was lost. Whereas earlier analyses of democratic transitions recognized organized labor\u27s important role in bringing an end to dictatorships, later studies of market reform viewed labor organizations as either obstacles to be overcome, losers to be compensated, or simply irrelevant. Perhaps more important than scholarship\u27s neglect of labor unions is the neglect that is reflected in policies toward labor in the region. Economic and labor market policies as well as labor law reforms have left workers and labor organizations more vulnerable without creating adequate protections, bolstering labor rights, or democratizing industrial relations systems. I argue that these policies have had significant costs that in turn affect two important contemporary debates: (1) how to strengthen labor rights in the global economy; and (2) how to consolidate and deepen democracy in Latin America

Regional Integration and Transnational Labor Strategies under NAFTA

[Excerpt] This paper argues that while the internationalization of the economy has tended to weaken national labor movements, the internationalization of domestic politics may expand the traditional arenas for strategic action for labor unions. In particular, the North American Free Trade Agreement has been portrayed by some of its many critics as representing the consolidation of a neoconservative or neoliberal project that will not only shape the future economic development of the region, but also constrain its social policies and limit its political options (Grinspun and Cameron 1993: Chapter 1). However, these same critics have also noted that the debate surrounding NAFTA in Mexico, Canada, and the United States has led to a broad range of contacts and cooperative efforts among labor, environmental, women\u27s, religious, and educators\u27 groups in the three countries. This process is not only itself an expression of the search for new strategies in the context of regional integration, it has also altered the traditional ways in which U.S.-Mexican relations have been carried out and shaped the political process within Mexico. While the constraints to transnational labor collaboration remain strong, these new dimensions of the international and political environments nonetheless potentially offer new opportunities to weakened labor movements in all three countries. This paper will begin with a discussion of the contours of this new international political environment—in particular, the internationalization of domestic politics—and how this environment differs from traditional, nationally bounded notions of domestic politics and state action. I then discuss how both the transnationalization of politics and regional economic integration change the arena for strategic action by labor groups, how this new environment affects the labor movement in Mexico, and the kinds of strategies Mexican and U.S. labor unions have begun to pursue in this context. Finally, I consider whether the side agreement on labor standards that was developed as a complement to the NAFTA represents an example of institutionalization of this political internationalization, thus potentially facilitating further transnational collaboration among unions, or whether, alternatively, the side accord buttresses national institutions and state autonomy in ways that could constrain labor\u27s strategic use of the international arena

Unauthorized Migration and Border “Control”: Three Regional Views

This is a revised transcript of a talk given at the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 29, 2008

Is Incorporation of Unauthorized Immigrants Possible? Inclusion and Contingency for Nonstatus Migrants and Legal Immigrants

[Excerpt] What does inclusion for nonstatus migrants look like? How do we recognize and measure inclusion for this population? How might we model inclusion for nonstatus migrants? This essay addresses these questions, drawing primarily on empirical examples from the United States and Spain. Although Spain has become a country of immigration relatively recently, both countries have received large numbers of unauthorized immigrants, especially in the early part of the 2000s. These two countries also illustrate different means of inclusion for unauthorized migrants. During most of the 2000s opportunities for the “regularization” of unauthorized migrants have arguably been greater in Spain than in the United States. Yet in Spain the process has also been highly contingent, with a greater likelihood that regularized immigrants will fall out of status (Calavita 2005). The model of inclusion I develop here aims to capture such varied circumstances across national contexts

Bringing Unions Back In: Labour and Left Governments in Latin America

In the 2000s an unprecedented wave of left-party victories in presidential elections swept across Latin America. Although scholars have studied variation among left regimes and how these regimes differ from neoliberal-era predecessors, few have addressed the role of labour unions and labour policy under the Left. We argue that ‘bringing unions back in’ to the analysis of left governments’ performance sharpens distinctions with neoliberal governments and unsettles existing typologies. We review the labour policies of left governments in four countries—Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina—to show how a labour lens enriches our understanding of left governments in the region

Managing risk in cancer presentation, detection and referral: a qualitative study of primary care staff views

Objectives In the UK, there have been a number of national initiatives to promote earlier detection and prompt referral of patients presenting to primary care with signs and symptoms of cancer. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of a range of primary care staff in promoting earlier presentation, detection and referral of patients with symptoms suggestive of cancer. Setting Six primary care practices in northwest England. Participants: 39 primary care staff from a variety of disciplines took part in five group and four individual interviews. Results The global theme to emerge from the interviews was ‘managing risk’, which had three underpinning organising themes: ‘complexity’, relating to uncertainty of cancer diagnoses, service fragmentation and plethora of guidelines; ‘continuity’, relating to relationships between practice staff and their patients and between primary and secondary care; ‘conflict’ relating to policy drivers and staff role boundaries. A key concern of staff was that policymakers and those implementing cancer initiatives did not fully understand how risk was managed within primary care. Conclusions Primary care staff expressed a range of views and opinions on the benefits of cancer initiatives. National initiatives did not appear to wholly resolve issues in managing risk for all practitioners. Staff were concerned about the number of guidelines and priorities they were expected to implement. These issues need to be considered by policymakers when developing and implementing new initiatives

Analysis of the Effects of Music Therapy on Pain and Anxiety Levels in Pediatric Burn Patients

Burn injuries resulting in tissue damage are considered one of the most severe traumas that can be experienced. Pain and anxiety continue to be major problems for patients with burn injuries during all stages of the treatment. Proper pain management is essential during recovery because it reduces the chance of developing malnutrition and promotes a stronger immune system. A number of studies have explored the effects of music on pain levels before, during, and after medical procedures for burn patients. Few studies have examined the effects of music therapy in the population of pediatric burn patients. Many studies have shown that pediatric burn patients have a positive reaction to music as a form of treatment intervention and no negative impacts have been associated with any of the studies. With no negative side effects, music therapy continues to be a beneficial nonpharmacologic treatment option for patients and creates an opportunity for providers to reduce drugs and sedation in children

Relaciones Industriales en America del Norte: Sindicalismo y Sector Automotriz en los Estados Unidos [Industrial Relations in North America: Unions and the Auto Sector in the United States]

[Excerpt] Este trabajo empieza por describir algunas de las tendencias generates de cambio que se han generado en los mercados de trabajo y en las relaciones industriales a nivel nacional en los Estados Unidos a raiz de los procesos de globalizacion en los ultimos anos, tomando como ejemplo el caso del sector automotriz. Tambien se consideran algunas de las respuestas y estrategias de los sindicatos norteamericanos frente a estos cambios: las de la AFL-CIO a nivel central, y las del sindicato del sector automotriz, el United Automobile Workers, o UAW. Los cambios que se han generado en los ultimos anos se deben a un complejo de factores, entre ellos los que derivan de una mayor competencia global, pero no precisamente del Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC). Es dificil separar los efectos del Tratado de otros factores aun poco estudiados. Aunque el TLC es indudablemente un elemento importante en los procesos que se estan desarrollando\u27en la region, este trabajo se referira al contexto mas amplio de la globalizacion, en el que se encuentran encuadrados los tratados de libre comercio tal como el TLCAN

Les Relations Industrielles Mexicaines et la Democratic Dans le Context de l\u27ALENA [Mexican Industrial Relations and Democracy under NAFTA]

Le Mexique est presentement en train de vivre une importante transition, qu\u27il s\u27agisse de son modele de developpement economique ou de son systeme politique. Sur le plan economique, le Mexique est passe d\u27un modele d\u27industrialisation sous une logique de substitution d\u27importations par des biens domestiques, modele forge dans les annees 30 et 40, a une strategie de developpement axee sur l\u27exportation et basee sur un modele neo-liberal. Sur le plan politique, le regime mexicain a subi de tres fortes pressions pour que son systeme, de type autoritaire, domine depuis plus de 60 ans par le Parti revolutionnaire institutionnel (PRI), fasse montre de plus d\u27ouverture. Les evolutions dans ces deux spheres touchent fondamentalement le systeme mexicain de relations industrielles. Comme la plupart des transitions, celle-ci fourmille de contradictions. Ces elements contradictoires se manifestent probablement avec plus d\u27intensite dans les relations industrielles actuelles que dans n\u27importe quel autre secteur de la societe mexicaine

Working Through The Past: Labor and Authoritorian Legacies in Comparative Perspective

[Excerpt] Democratization in the developing and post-communist world has yielded limited gains for labor. Explanations for this phenomenon have focused on the effect of economic crisis and globalization on the capacities of unions to become influential political actors and to secure policies that benefit their members. In contrast, the contributors to Working through the Past highlight the critical role that authoritarian legacies play in shaping labor politics in new democracies, providing the first cross-regional analysis of the impact of authoritarianism on labor, focusing on East and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Legacies from the predemocratic era shape labor’s present in ways that both limit and enhance organized labor’s power in new democracies. Assessing the comparative impact on a variety of outcomes relevant to labor in widely divergent settings, this volume argues that political legacies provide new insights into why labor movements in some countries have confronted the challenges of neoliberal globalization better than others