Bom mesmo é ser metalúrgico: vivências de trabalhadores metalúrgicos na cidade de São José dos Campos - SP

Abstract

This dissertation aims at analysing how metallurgy workers in São José dos Campos perceived and, through their experiences, interpreted changes happening in the city (along with urbanization process) as well as in their work (along with industrialization and production restructure process) from the seventies until today. By connecting to oral narratives of metallurgy workers who lived end live this process, we understand how they interpret changes to their way of life and work in the city. This dissertation also analyses written sources like São José dos Campos local press news and metallurgy syndicate s newspaper, O Metalúrgico , mainly in the Dito Bronca section, a space where workers send their complaints and denunciation about daily life facts. Although most of their complaints are about what goes inside the workplace in the industry, denunciation about their immediate chiefs, there is evidence about the living dimension of these metallurgy workers out of their workplace as the problem of working far from home and the worker s disputes for leasure. I looked forward to facing these workers actions in the working place, as well as their home place, in the suburbs. This leads to the analysis of their living habits, of which not only strikes and manifestations are evident, but also their fight for improvements in the quarter, leasure, expectations, rhythm of work, feeding, among others. This dissertation is organized in three chapters: Chapter I: Follows the life and work paths of these metallurgy workers connecting them to the urbanization process of their city, São José dos Campos; Chapter II: Analyses the transformation process of the work in the industry, referenced by the experiences of theses workers. Chapter III: Deals with their significant fight and organization in times of deep changes in the city.