Los Castillo’s celebrated rise as one of Taxco’s largest silver workshops concealed an increasingly unstable labor structure. During the Second World War, the firm expanded dramatically, employing more than 300 workers and producing identification bracelets and chains for American military personnel alongside its jewelry and decorative objects. By the mid-1950s, however, declining tourism, changing export markets, rising operating costs, and new labor obligations placed heavy pressure on the business. The workshop cut its workforce by roughly half and shifted the remaining employees toward piecework, a system in which earnings depended on individual production rather than stable wages. Workers also faced reduced hours and salary arrears, creating the conditions for a major dispute.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1950s
The 1957–1958 Los Castillo Strike and the Collapse of Taxco’s Silver Workshop Model
Los Castillo / 1950s
Los Castillo’s celebrated rise as one of Taxco’s largest silver workshops concealed an increasingly unstable labor structure. During the Second World War, the firm expanded dramatically, employing more than 300 workers and producing identification bracelets and chains for American military personnel alongside its jewelry and decorative objects. By the mid-1950s, however, declining tourism, changing export markets, rising operating costs, and new labor obligations placed heavy pressure on the business. The workshop cut its workforce by roughly half and shifted the remaining employees toward piecework, a system in which earnings depended on individual production rather than stable wages. Workers also faced reduced hours and salary arrears, creating the conditions for a major dispute.
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