From nationalism to European patriotism? Trade unions and the European works council at General Motors

Abstract

Research on economic patriotism has so far focused on public policy and only marginally addressed the role of non-state actors. This contribution seeks to fill this gap. It examines the emergence of a European economic patriotism discourse among trade union representatives at General Motors since the late 1990s, which underpinned the operation of the company's ‘European works council’, a statutory body of employee representation mandated by a 1994 European Union directive. It argues that the new trade union emphasis on ‘European interests’ vis-à-vis subsidiaries in other world regions, and vis-à-vis GM's global headquarter in Detroit, reflected a (partial) ‘upward shift’ of patriotism from the national to the European level in response to corporate globalization. It also highlights the limited and fragile nature of European patriotism, which was severely challenged during the recent global economic crisis