In the first recorded labor skirmish at RCA, workers tried to break through the turnover system. In the spring of 1977 the employees publicly condemned the company's policy of forcing workers to resign when they reached the age of twenty-five or accumulated five years on the job. The "mass demonstration," however, was quickly and efficiently defused and defeated. RCA's systematic manipulation of turnover clearly indicated that it preferred to absorb the substantial costs of rehiring and retraining personnel rather than allow wages to rise to market levels or allow workers to acquire inefficient habits and "dangerous" levels of commitment to their jobs.

[...] A worker with a punctual record over the course of many months received a T-shirt emblazoned with a slogan (in Spanish) such as "RCA and me," "RCA and I are one team," or "I am part of RCA," and won an opportunity to participate in a raffle that might even lead to a free trip into the interior of the country. As in Bloomington, RCA also tried to construct a family atmosphere (una gran familia) through a variety of extracurricular activities-team sports, birthday parties, production awards, dances, exercise groups, drill teams, the celebration of festival days, and educational courses. Workers could even enter the plant beauty contest for the title of Miss RCA, the winner to compete against Miss Sylvania, Miss GTE, and so on for the coveted title of Miss Maquiladora; or they could enter the Maquilolimpiada, the Maquila Olympics, and compete in athletic events against company teams from all over the country. In later years, with the revival of the company mascot, the line with the highest production numbers won the "privilege" of displaying a giant stuffed Nipper in their work space.

[...] To remind the workers of the new climate of"enforced responsibility," large signs on the wall declared: "Quality is the number one priority in our business, there are no exceptions!" and "Gain confidence through customer satisfaction!" The new system ingeniously encouraged workers to monitor each other's behavior rather than be under the constant supervision of management. An RCA employee explained, "We're trying not to have mistakes and to fulfill the quality [goals], because here we achieve teamwork and respect the others' work." Another echoed, "We're all important, because our job depends on quality."