YOUNG PEOPLE'S MEANINGS OF WORK AND UNIONISM IN CONTEMPORARY COLOMBIA: A TENSION BETWEEN INTERPRETATIVE REPERTORIES

Abstract

This article aims to examine the meanings that, nowadays, young people give to work and unionism. Nine ethnographic interviews with young workers were conducted about their working lives as unionized and non-unionized workers. The conceptual framed was composed by a review of the literature related to the following topics: the social construction of young people, the contemporary transformation of work and the history of unionism in Colombia. The research question was addressed by identifying the participant's interpretative repertories (Potter and Wheterell, 1996). The results show a tension between the repertoires used by young workers according to their position as union or non-union members.