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Framing labor militancy and political exchange in a Spanish Catholic trade union: the Autonomous Union of the Vine in Jerez (1979–1987)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2020

Beltrán Roca Open the ORCID record for Beltrán Roca [Opens in a new window]  and
Eva Bermúdez-Figueroa
Beltrán Roca
Affiliation:
Universidad de Cádiz
Eva Bermúdez-Figueroa
Affiliation:
Universidad de Cádiz
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Abstract

This article examines the evolution of the Autonomous Union of the Vine (Sindicato Autónomo de la Vid [SAVID]), a radical wine industry union that operated in the Jerez area (Spain) between 1979 and 1987. The SAVID was born as a result of a series of internal conflicts and splits in the trade union Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), which was founded by Christian groups that were influenced by self-management ideas in the province of Cádiz during the 1970s. Drawing on the life stories of two union members, this article analyzes the creation, evolution, and decline of the SAVID labor union of the sherry wine industry in the Jerez area, which can be categorized as a paradigmatic case of “militant particularism.” The biographical narratives of the union members make the identification and analysis of factors involved in both the rise and the decline of this trade union possible. These narratives will also help in contesting the dominant narratives on the role of the trade union movement and the radical Left during the Spanish Transition by providing empirical evidence of labor militancy on a local scale.

Type
Labor Activism Under Neoliberalism
Information
International Labor and Working-Class History , Volume 98: East Europe and the Troubled Memory of “The Worker” / Labor Activism Under Neoliberalism / Lines of Labor, Lines of Production , Fall 2020 , pp. 99 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © International Labor and Working-Class History, Inc. 2020

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References

Notes

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38. Catholic unionism was especially strong in the shipbuilding industry in the Bay of Cádiz and in the winery industry of Jerez during the 1970s, but also in the visual arts and banks in Jerez. In contrast, CCOO was hegemonic in other cities of El Marco de Jerez, such as El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar, and among agrarian laborers in Jerez. By the end of the decade, some of the USO militants switched to the UGT or CCOO. Nonetheless, a significant number of its members attempted to maintain the original spirit of the USO in new autonomous unions, such as the SAVID and CLAT.

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