The teacher union struggle in La Rioja (Argentina). Subjectivity and collective actions during the period 1993-2010

Abstract

Rebellions, insurrections, resistance, outbursts, like so many other denominations that we use in the social sciences, refer to situations of conflict that warn us about the "constituent" moments of contemporary social relations. Under this framework, this article intends to analyze the conflict led by teachers in the province of La Rioja between 1993 and 2010 joined in the teacher’s union Asociación de Maestros y Profesores de La Rioja. The analysis strategy consists in the collection of journalistic notes from the newspaper with the highest provincial circulation during the reporting period, where union actions carried out by teachers are identified, and in-depth interviews with different guild members. The notes are subjected to a quantitative content analysis that allows studying the collective actions displayed throughout the period, and the interviews provide the meaning of those actions, the framework of their construction, the form of appropriation and the historicity they carry, making the experience and the struggle/combat two central concepts to understand the configuration of the union contests.