Digitizing Labor Unrest: Heterogeneous Effects of Digital Communication on Strike Frequency in Brazil
2026-06-06
How does access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) impact labor unrest? In Brazil, strike activity has increased since around 2013, coinciding with the rapid diffusion of smartphones and mobile internet. To explain this shift, I combine qualitative interviews with subcontracted service workers and quantitative analysis of private sector strikes (SAG-DIEESE dataset). Interviews show that ICTs facilitated strike coordination for workers dispersed across small, spatially isolated workplaces. Statistical patterns are consistent with this mechanism: Since the period of ICT diffusion, strike growth has been steeper in industries with highly dispersed workforces; moreover, higher internet access within industry categories is associated with more strikes, especially in categories with higher dispersion. However, strike increases were sharper for lower-risk strikes over employment violations than for higher-risk strikes demanding better contracts. The findings suggest that ICTs expanded workers’ capacity to coordinate labor protest, especially in spatially fragmented industries, but riskier action still depends more on traditional labor organizations.