© 2018 by the Board of Trustees

of the University of Illinois

All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1

∞ This book is printed on acid-­free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data

Names: Fink, Leon, 1948– editor. | Palacio, Juan Manuel, editor.
Title: Labor justice across the Americas / edited by Leon Fink and Juan
Manuel Palacio.
Description: Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2017.
Series: The working class in American history
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2017031826| isbn 9780252041501 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780252083068 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: lcsh: Labor laws and legislation—America.
Classification: lcc kdz432 .l33 2017 | ddc 344.701—dc23 lc record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017031826

Fink_text.indd 4 11/2/17 11:21 AM

 Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Labor Justice across the Americas 1
Juan Manuel Palacio

1. From Social Legislation to Labor Justice:

The Common Background in the Americas 16
Juan Manuel Palacio

Part I: The United States, Canada, and Mexico

2. American Labor Justice and the Problem

of Trade Union Legitimacy 47
Leon Fink

3. Labor Justice in Canada: Mackenzie King

and Collective Labor Rights 70
Frank Luce

4. The Ambiguity of Labor Justice in Mexico, 1907–1931 93

William Suarez-­Potts

Fink_text.indd 5 11/2/17 11:21 AM

 Part II: Costa Rica, Colombia, and the Andean Countries

5. Labor Justice in Costa Rica, 1821–2016 117

Ronny J. Viales-­Hurtado and David Díaz-­Arias

6. Origins of Labor Rights and Justice in Colombia,

1850–1950142
Victor M. Uribe-­Uran with Germán Palacio

7. Inclusions and Exclusions: From Labor Legislation

in the Andean Nations to the Formation of Labor Courts
in Bolivia (1900–1952) 164
Rossana Barragán Romano

Part III: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

8. The Rise of Labor Courts in Argentina 191

Juan Manuel Palacio

9. Labor Courts in Brazil: Their Origins, Challenges,

and Expansion 211
Angela de Castro Gomes and Fernando Teixeira da Silva

10. Bringing Justice to the Workplace: Labor Courts

and Labor Laws in Chile, 1930s–1980s 235
Diego Ortúzar and Angela Vergara

Conclusion: The Rise and Consolidation

of the Mediatory State 259
Leon Fink

Contributors 267
Index 271

Fink_text.indd 6 11/2/17 11:21 AM