Building Power from Below Building Power from Below Chilean Workers Take On Walmart Carolina Bank Muñoz ILR Press an imprint of Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Copyright © 2017 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2017 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bank Muñoz, Carolina, 1975– author. Title: Building power from below : Chilean workers take on Walmart / Carolina Bank Muñoz. Description: Ithaca : ILR Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017011395 (print) | LCCN 2017013993 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501714689 (epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501714771 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501712883 | ISBN 9781501712883 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501712890 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Wal-Mart (Firm)—Employees—Labor unions— Organizing—Chile. | Discount houses (Retail trade)—Employees— Labor unions—Organizing—Chile. | Labor unions—Organizing— Chile. | Labor movement—Chile. Classification: LCC HF5429.215.C5 (ebook) | LCC HF5429.215.C5 .B36 2017 (print) | DDC 331.88/113811490983—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011395 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cover design: Richanna Patrick For the Chilean Walmart workers who have dedicated their lives to organizing from below. For Emilio who on a daily basis gives me hope for the future. Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Acronyms xiii 1. Beating the Bully 1 2. Walmart in Chile 27 3. Leveraging Power: Two Models of Successful Unionism 56 4. Strategic Democracy: Walmart’s Warehouse Workers 86 5. The Flexible Militancy of Walmart Retail Workers 108 6. Looking Back and Going Forward 134 References 157 Index 169 Acknowledgments All research projects benefit from the participation and encouragement of many different people and institutions, this project is no different. This book would never have come to fruition without the participation of dozens of Walmart Chile workers, union leaders, and suppliers. I am indebted to all those workers who took many hours out of their busy schedules to allow me to interview them, observe their workplace envi- ronment, and participate in union meetings. I am especially thankful to Sandra Neida, Natalia Duque, Cristian González Santibáñez, Juan Ver- gara, Esteban Zúñiga, Rodrigo Villagra, and Jorge Pizarro who not only opened doors, but a whole new world. I would also like to thank organiz- ers and researchers at the UFCW who put me in initial contact with peo- ple in the Chilean labor movement. Although I am often critical of the union, it comes from a deep commitment to building a better labor move- ment in the United States. Over the course of five years, I have participated in two different writing groups. Tamara Mose and Greg Smithsimon—my colleagues at