Information on the Unión Tranviaria Automotor (UTA) and on references to its involvement in strikes in the 1980s [ARG13421]

The information that follows was provided by the regional director for Latin America of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF), who is also a representative of the Unión Tranviario Automotor (UTA), in a telephone interview with DIRB.

The UTA was created in 1919 and represents bus and metro (subway) workers throughout Argentina. Although its name refers to trams or streetcars, there are currently no such vehicles operating in Argentina. It has approximately 75,000 members.

The visible head of the UTA is the Secretary General, who is currently Juan Manuel Palacios. The main administrative body of the UTA is the Secretariado Nacional (National Secretariat), which includes 17 secretariats that deal with different areas of importance to the union. Each province has a Junta Ejecutiva (Executive Board or Council) that responds to the basic needs of its local members.

As dictated by its constitution, the UTA elects its leadership in a nationwide election held every four years. All UTA members participate in the election, and candidates can be either new figures or incumbents seeking reelection. The UTA participated in a number of strikes during the 1980s, the longest of which took place from 6 February to 18 February 1984 and from 6 November to 14 November 1989. Between 1984 and 1989 several strikes took place, although these usually lasted no more than 24 hours.

Various sources available to the DIRB report that several strikes took place in Argentina from 1986 to 1988, some of which included land transport, but specific references to UTA participation in these strikes could not be found among the sources.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

Reference


Unión Tranviaria Automotor (UTA), Buenos Aires. 15 April 1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.