Unionism and railway work in São Paulo: The Paulista Railway Company from the beginning of the twentieth century to its nationalization

Abstract The aim of this paper is to historically analyze the expansion of the railway trade union activity during the process that culminated in the nationalization of the Paulista Railway Company. Throughout the 1950s, the Brazilian railway system underwent a change towards greater state control that lasted until the 1990s. All major national companies had already been nationalized, with the exception of the Paulista Company, which remained private until 1961. In this context of union freedom (from 1946 to 1964), workers resumed their historical struggle for better working conditions and wage increases, while Paulista faced fierce intermodal competition and a relentless reduction in its operational balance. Could the exacerbation of the conflict between capital and labor have contributed, in definitive terms, to the nationalization of the Paulista Railway Company? We present arguments that suggest that inflation and the struggle for wage equalization were the main factors that led to the uprising of the railway workers and, therefore, contributed to the company's nationalization process.