Unionism and Employer Power Strategies in Spain: Ethnography of a Labor Struggle in an Iron and Steel Firm

This article describes one case of trade union struggle in a mid-sized iron and steel company in the province of Cádiz (southern Spain). The authors propose an analytical framework that emphasizes power in the relations between capital and labor. According to them, the sources of labor power must be identified in order to study workers and management tactics. The described episode of a union campaign is used to illustrate management strategies to control the workforce, prevent conflict, and fight unions. The article finally provides a typology of management strategies based on the sort of labor power they aim to counter.