Being professional in the hospital: identification, stratification and union conflict

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of the notion of “profession” as an identity reference of workers at the Neuquén Provincial Hospital (Argentina) between 2005 and 2013, studying its link with work stratification and the trade union conflict. Using a qualitative methodological strategy, it analyzes the profession as a category of segmentation between different groups of workers, studying the material and symbolic disputes involved in everyday work and union dynamics. It contributes to an understanding of the trade union dynamics of professionalized work spaces, framing union demands in the context of everyday labor relations.