Trade unions in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Federal Court

a decade of devaluation of the role of collective subjects in the constitution of public space

Abstract

Introduction: The article seeks to reflect on the place destined to collective subjects in the constitution of democracy and public space in Brazil, especially after the Bolsonaro government, marked by social setbacks, and within the context of the role of the Federal Supreme Court in deciding constitutional matters affecting collective rights.

Objective: The objective is to deconstruct the perception of the STF as a space for the containment of authoritarian and anti-democratic measures and to present the contradictions of its positions’ refractory to the importance of collective subjects for democracy. In summary, it is intended to understand how the reasons for the Court's decisions move away from the valorization of workers unions as fundamental to the democratization of Brazilian society. 

Methodology: Regarding the methodology, in addition to the literature review, a survey of the decisions of the STF in matters of Collective Labor Law in the context of Actions for Concentrated Control of Constitutionality or with General Repercussion Recognized in the last ten years was carried out. The winning votes of the selected cases were analyzed to verify the existence of any modifications and/or radicalizations in the arguments used by the Court.

Results: As a result, it was identified that the winning positions in the STF's jurisprudence move away from the valorization of unions as collective subjects fundamental to the democratization of Brazilian society.

Conclusion: In conclusion, it is understood that the STF has a myopic perception of collective subjects as participants in a plural society, which presents itself as an important indicator of the democratic deficit in Brazil and reveals the perpetuation of contradictions between an authoritarian perspective, which denies collective subjects and their potentialities, and the constitutional text of 1988 with its democratizing charge. Finally, there was initially a seal of approval from the unions to make working conditions more flexible and, later, a radical turn towards the denial of the need for the existence and action of these collective subjects, revealing an alignment with authoritarian perspectives and neoliberal thinking.

KEYWORDS: Democracy. Jurisprudence. Supreme Federal Court. Trade Unions.