This article puts forth a possibility for interpreting unionism faced with outsourcing in a contemporary context, seeking to comprehend and systematize the positions of the Labor Unions regarding this question, especially focusing on the CUT (Workers Union Center). We discuss the relationship between Brazilian unionizing and the segmented pattern of the working relationships in the country, from a historic perspective, considering outsourcing as a work process that updates and resignifies this pattern. After all, what is at stake with the theme of outsourcing? What implications has this brought to workers and to the union’s agenda and the future of unionism? As to Brazil, taking into consideration the historic characteristics of the working classes and of the organization of Unions, what questions do outsourcing and the present moment of regulation bring? Thus, we put forth some questions regarding how outsourcing – as a central characteristic of the production dynamics and of work in contemporary capitalism, worldwide and in Brazil – challenges the Unions, meaning new limitations and possibilities.
Outsourcing; Unionism; Work Regulation; Brazilian Capitalism