Labor Conditions In Chile

Throughout the early twentieth century, labor conditions in Chile were often complex and difficult for working-class women. During this period, men and women in the workforce encountered unjust conditions and were often exploited in their jobs. Chilean women experienced even more difficult conditions in the workforce because of their gender, which often resulted from a patriarchal led society. To overcome these difficult conditions, Latin American’s in the workforce were influenced by transnational and local traditions, which resulted in organized mutual aid societies, reading clubs, labor unions, and larger labor confederations (Vergara Lecture, 2/13). Labor confederations such as the Seamstresses’ Association led by working-class seamstress …show more content…
In her speech Women, Work, and Labor Politics, Valdes de Diaz shares her views on the Seamstresses’ Association's two yearlong founding, obstacles the association faced, and the hopes for the future of working-class Chilean women in the workforce. The document originally appeared in the seamstress newspaper (La Palanca) in August 1908. The speech is told through the perspective and point of view of a journalist women advocating for Seamstress (women who sew) and other working-class women in Chile to acquire better work benefits and conditions by unionizing and demanding fair labor practices. In various parts of her speech, Valdes de Diaz seems to suggest that capitalism and patriarchy have both limited women from achieving equality and fair working conditions in Chile. Working-class women have been exploited and abused all in the name of capitalism (Valdes de Diaz 248). However, she also seems to point out that women have also been able to stand up for their working rights against their bosses. According to Valdes de Diaz, “relative gains in wages, working hours and the personal consideration for the woman worker that have been achieved in some workshops and factories…the union spirit and pressure are slowly but surely taking deep root in women’s trades” (Valdes de Diaz, 248). Valdes de Diaz is very happy and glad that women labor movements are occurring in Chile. She also discusses how the Seamstresses Association is also “not been far from this slow but sure female awakening.” The great female awaking that Valdes de Diaz is referring to is how working-class women are rising up and resisting the exploitive male-dominant workplace (Valdes de Diaz