Understanding the New Labor Movements in the "Third World": The Emergence of Social Movement Unionism

Abstract

A new type of trade unionism has emerged in a number of "Third World" countries, which can best be described as "social movement unionism." This category seeks to understand the role of trade unions in promoting radical social change in a manner that goes beyond both the prevailing "bourgeois" and Leninist conceptions of unions. This paper refines this concept and then applies it to a case study of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Labor Center of the Philippines.