Trabalho e experiências feministas na CAFT: uma perspectiva de gênero Rio Largo - Alagoas (1940-1960)

Abstract

New forms of production and work resulted from the growth of the cotton market in several cities in Alagoas at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In this scenario, the search for labor attracted several families of workers from the most varied regions to compose the first group of male and female workers in the manufacturing industries in Alagoas. Among workers, women formed the majority of workers in textile factories. This research aimed to analyze the work of women workers at Companhia Alagoana de Fiação e Tecidos - CAFT in Rio Largo - Alagoas, which emerged in this context, highlighting the years 1940-1960. The Work was guided by the following questions: how did the process of inserting women into the factories take place? Who were these women? What types of activities do they perform? How was your daily life in the factory environment? What are the relationships between them and men at work? How important is work for these women? In view of these questions, it was necessary to approach the experiences of women workers at Companhia Alagoana de Fiação e Tecidos, from the perspective of gender in dialogue with authors who studied the history of women workers in the textile universe: Rago (1985) Perrot (2007) Scott (1994) among others. This analysis had as documentary corpus printed sources of newspapers, among them Nosso Jornal (1941-1947), a monthly periodical that belonged to CAFT and circulated among the workers in the city of Rio Largo, whose main editors were women and young workers. A Voz do Povo (1958-1962), a weekly newspaper founded by the Communist party of Alagoas in the 1940s, which brings news about the daily lives of workers in the textile industries of Alagoas. In addition to the aforementioned, labor lawsuits filed by workers in the Labor Court between the years 1950-1960 and the oral narratives of the former workers who worked at CAFT between the years 1950 and 1960.