A CASE STUDY OF

The purpose of this article is to analyze the role law played in labor-management relations in Chile from the beginning of this century up to 1 970. In 1924 a number of laws were passed to structure labor-management relation. In those laws a preference was expressed for certain patterns of behavior with respect to the interaction between labor and management, to the exclusion of other possible structures and behavior. Obviously, these laws did not spon­ taneously arise out of a vacuum, they were a step in a development of social forces which may be traced back to the middle of the last century. In order to assess the relevance of the laws for the development of the social forces involved, I first sketch the development of the labor movement and the nature of its inter action with management up to 1 924. Then I discuss the legislative his tory of the laws and their contents , so as to evaluate their potential relevance for the development of further relations . It will be seen that the system of labor relations which the laws attempted to impose was very different from prevailing practice at the time. While both labor and management agreed as to the nature of the social conflict they were involved in, they disagreed substantially with respect to the proper mann er of structuring their in­ teraction. Thus, the situation was characterized by a fundamental social conflict situation, divergent opinions about the proper mann er of interaction, and a big gap between the social reality of conflict behavior and the system of interaction prescribed by the laws . In other words, the laws demanded substantial changes in patterns of behavior in an area which in­ volved, in the view of the social groups concerned, their very basic social interests . The development of actual labor relations as weil as labor and other social legislation between the coming into existence of the original laws and the late 1 960's is then described with a view to analyzing the role of law in the interaction of the social forces involved . I will describe the degree to which labor-management relations were and were not conducted in accordance with the legal prescriptions at various points in time, and suggest a number of more indirect effects of the laws on the overall socio-political development of the country. The conclusion will be that, on the one hand, a fair share of the actual reality of labor-management relations has not been in accordance with the pattern devised by the various laws . Such deviant be­ havior is most notable in the area of unionization and strikes . Since 1932 ab out half of all un­ ionized workers have been organized in illegal unions and a good part of all strike activity has also been illegal . It is hard to tell to what degree the interaction between employers and non-unionized workers has been in accordance with the general legal provisions governing their relations . But in view of the virtual lack of supervision by the State over the implemen­ tation of these parts of the laws it is reasonable to assurne that some part of such labor rela­ tions were not quite up to legal standards . On the other hand, the relatively low degree of un-