This article intends to analyze a situation typical of the increasing structure of work cooperatives that act as outsourcing companies: the organization of cooperatives by workers' unions as a reaction to the unemployment that followed the industrial restructuring of the footwear sector. This research examines five of nine cooperatives that work for large local industries in the municipalities of Novo Hamburgo and Parobé, in the Sinos Valley, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The aim is to analyze the industry's restructuring process, its consequences in terms of unemployment, the unions' role in the organization and support of cooperatives, and the workers' perception of the self-management, their situation as owners-managers-workers, as opposed to their previous experiences as employees.
work cooperatives; associative work; industrial restructuring
