Trade Union Agenda Research Articles

Renegotiating Skills, Wages, and the Right to Work: On the Gender of Labor Activism around Rationalization in the Bulgarian Tobacco Industry in the Early 1930s

AbstractStarting from the early 1930s, structural changes in the Bulgarian tobacco industry, prompted by the advent of the world economic crisis and German economic expansionism into Southeastern Europe, led to a deep restructuring of the labor processes, known in the terminology of the time as rationalization, in the Bulgarian tobacco industry. The introduction of the tonga rationalization technology had a deskilling and deeply gendered effect on the industry, making a significant number of skilled male workers redundant, disproportionately decreasing average male wages and leading, in turn, to a further feminization of an already majority-female workforce.The introduction of the new system provoked a strong response from the organized labor movement, which used a variety of tactics to fight against the new technology: from strikes to petitions to tripartite negotiations. Organized labor's reaction was deeply gendered, an aspect that only becomes truly visible if, in addition to gender and skill, we employ the analytical lens of scale. By following trade union policies on the local, national, and international levels, the article goes beyond the carefully crafted gender-neutral language in official documents to reveal tensions between the conservative attitudes of rank-and-file activists and the official trade union agenda. This is especially evident in communist labor politics, where Bulgarian trade union policies on the local and national levels provoked an intervention on the part of the Profintern between 1930 and 1931. The movement's internal contradictions resulted in a polyvalent, ambiguous, and non-linear trade union policy formed through the clash of and negotiations between local activists’ conservative notions of gendered work and family roles and the radical gender program of international communism.

Fair tax policies in the western Balkans: challenges and recommendations for a trade union agenda

This article examines the structure and scale of taxation in four western Balkans countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – in the context of the work of the international trade union organisations (the ITUC and the ETUC) to improve tax fairness and justice, and in seeking to hold multinational enterprises better to account. Based on a review of evidence from publications in the field authored by the major international organisations and drawing in particular on the Staff Working Documents produced by the European Commission, supplemented by field material gathered first-hand from trade unions active within these countries, the author sets out the challenges facing each of them in coming to terms with squeezed public finances, not least as a result of Covid-19, in the context of sizeable demands for public investment to deliver better public services. She closes by setting out an agenda which trade unions might adopt in broadening their calls for tax reform and, crucially, in developing the public debate about tax fairness and building alliances for change.

Challenging the trade union agenda: migrants’ interest representation and German trade unions in Hamburg in the 1970s and 1980s

ABSTRACT In the 1970s and 1980s, important transitions took place in Germany in both migration and labor market policies. The so-called recruitment of ‘guest-workers’ came to an end, and the patterns of cross-border movement changed significantly – and with them the ways unions as well as migrant organizations articulated their political claims. Taking these aspects into account, I examine union strategies concerning migrant workers’ interests. I discuss how migration challenged and changed the agenda of local trade unions in terms of content and processes. This paper puts forth the hypothesis that local trade union organizations could react to such challenges by broadening or narrowing their agenda. I draw on material gained from empirical research on trade unions and migrant organizations in Hamburg. Analyzing insights from qualitative interviews and primary sources, I discuss trade union activities regarding the inclusion of migrants, collective bargaining, and labor market policies, as well as migrants’ access to social and political rights. I also present initiatives against racism both within and outside of trade unions.

De la calle al palacio. La resolución parlamentaria del conflicto por el Impuesto a las Ganancias (2016)

El artículo analiza el conflicto sociopolítico en torno del Impuesto a las Ganancias, ocurrido durante el segundo mandato de Cristina F. de Kirchner y el primer año de gestión de la Alianza Cambiemos, prestando particular atención a la última fase de la disputa acontecida enel 2016, donde el reclamo se trasladó“de la calle al palacio”, luego de una sucesión deacciones colectivas encaradas por una parte del sindicalismo. Se abordará este proceso a partir detres dimensiones centrales: la relación de los sindicatos con el gobierno de Mauricio Macri, la reconfiguración de las alianzas parlamentarias y las modificaciones realizadas en el tributo en el recinto legislativo. Los argumentos trabajados surgen de una investigación cualitativa y de orientación sociopolítica. El texto reflexiona sobre un conflicto de presencia sustantiva en la agenda política y sindical, al tiempo que examina la reconfiguración de alianzas parlamentarias en la era Cambiemos

UNION DISCUSSIONS OF GENDER EQUALITY IN THE SWEDISH TRADE UNION NEWSPAPER JOURNALISTEN, 1961–1989

Sweden is arguably one of the most gender-equal countries in the world, and the historical development of that equality has been studied in detail. However, less is known about how the idea of gender equality was adopted in different professional spheres. In this article, I focus on this topic by using one profession, journalism, to analyse how gender equality was placed on the trade union agenda and negotiated in Sweden between 1961 and 1989. Drawing on a framing analysis of the discussion of gender equality in the trade union newspaper Journalisten, I argue that the Swedish Union of Journalists and its members took a somewhat moderate position in the struggle for gender equality, which, during the decades in question, was mostly framed as a women’s question. For the most active advocates of gender equality, it was nevertheless a deeply felt issue, and their work can be defined as trade union feminism.

Syrian refugees in Turkey and trade union responses

ABSTRACTThis article discusses trade union responses in Turkey to Syrian refugees against a background characterized by shrinking boundaries of union inclusion. The analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with trade union executives from confederations and affiliated trade unions in textile and garment, construction, local public services, commerce and metal sectors, and focus group discussions with union members in the workplace. At the confederation level, Turkey’s trade union movement generally adopts a solidaristic rhetoric regarding Syrian refugees and attempts to shape trade union policies accordingly. However, there is little articulation with sectoral unions and the work-place level. Sectoral unions who do not encounter Syrian workers in the workplace do not place refugee issues on the trade union agenda. Instead union-level responses foreground the negative effects of Syrian refugees on the labour market while humanitarian considerations remain secondary. Unions demand formal employment of Syrian refugees should be ensured to eliminate these problems to prevent competition with local labour leading to a race to the bottom regarding pay and working conditions. Members at the workplace level oppose Syrian refugees with an exclusionary and somewhat hostile attitude, alleging that they damage the labour market, urban security and social life.

Beyond the nature–labour divide: trade union responses to climate change in South Africa

ABSTRACTWe present the life histories of two environmentally engaged unionists in South Africa, who were decisive for formulating the environmental programmes of their respective trade unions. Their experiences of participating in the resistance against apartheid in universities and factories taught them the necessity to connect different struggles and equipped them with the knowledge and ability to connect the fight for workers’ rights with the fight against environmental degradation. Both activists experienced the difficulty of integrating ‘the environment’ politically and practically into a trade union agenda. The labour movement has traditionally experienced nature as a place outside of work to be enjoyed for recreation. While nature constitutes an indispensable condition for labour, it has been privately appropriated by Capital. For environmental policies to form an integral part of union agendas, nature needs to be wrestled away from its appropriation by Capital and understood as an inseparable ally of labour.

Disconnected spaces: introducing environmental perspectives into the trade union agenda top-down and bottom-up

This article compares how visions for integrating environmental issues into the union agenda are articulated from two different positions in the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). The article is based on an analysis of ‘life history interviews’ and directs attention to the biographical circumstances under which individuals are able to work with environmental issues in unions. The analysis shows that the conditions for integrating environmental issues are weakened by the hierarchical culture of the organisation and by high levels of institutionalisation. LO furthermore lacks routines for mobilising the interests of environmental enthusiasts, and being positioned at headquarters hampers the abilities of union officials to mobilise environmental interests among members. Comparing the experiences from Sweden with the case of Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) in Spain shows that success depends on a relationship between individual engagement and political. Union transformation is contingent on developing issues that connect the immediate interests of workers with their long-term interests as citizens, such that a new workers’ identity can develop and lead to practices that overcome the ‘metabolic rift’.

Gleichstellung als arbeitspolitisches Feld. Symbolische Gewalt und Leistungsregime

WSI-Mitteilungen , Seite 43 - 50

TEMPO DE TRABALHO E OS LIMITES DA LUTA SINDICAL PELA REDUÇÃO DA JORNADA

This article aims to reflect and examine working time in marxist perspective and the fight for the reduction of the workday so critical, as well as the limits of Trade Union struggle, exposing some important theoretical and empirical dimensions that tend to be excluded from the public debate on the matter. We seek to reflect the absence of Trade Union agenda of issues that directly address the flexibility and intensity of work. Analyzing some features about the hiring of workers in the brazilian labor market, demonstrates that there is a great distance between the discourse, the academic reading on the topic and the reality. The reduction of the workday is a multifaceted issue, which features a complex and controversial debate, raising the interest of diverse social actors interested in this story, but which have different conceptions about the debate, due to the heterogeneity of values at stake. It is argued in this paper that the social implications of a policy measure to reduce workday does not guarantee the free time and human emancipation. However, it is understood that this reduction is a historical trend, linked to social and economic development. There are marked differences between the speech Association, the favor by policy measure, the theoretical statements and empirical evidence on the subject. We understand that the struggle of Unions and Federations for 40 hours per week is of great importance to workers, but it is necessary to include on the agenda the question of trade union work intensity. Finally, we focus on the ontological dimension of theory of value from the marxian conception.

Tempo de trabalho a luta pela redução da jornada e a centralidade da teoria do valor-trabalho

The article seeks to reflect the absence of Trade Union agenda that directly address issues of working time, flexibility and intensity of the work, as well as the centrality of work in our contemporaneity. Analyzing some features about the hiring of workers in the Brazilian labour market, demonstrates that there is a great distance between the discourse, academic reading on the topic and the reality. The reduction of the workday is a multifaceted issue, which features a complex and controversial debate, raising the interest of diverse social actors interested in this story, but which have different conceptions about the debate, due to the heterogeneity of values in play. It is argued in this paper that the social implications of a policy measure for the reduction of the workday does not guarantee the free time and human emancipation. However, it is understood that this reduction is a historical trend, linked to the socio-economic development. There are marked differences between the Trade Union discourse, political sympathy by the measure, theoretical statements and empirical evidence on the subject. We understand that the struggle of unions and Union stations for 40 hours per week is of great importance to workers, but it is necessary to include in the agenda the question of trade union work intensity. Finally, we focus on the ontological dimension of theory of value from the Marxian conception. Keywords: working time, work intensity value of journey, unionism.

Desmercantilização do trabalho da perspectiva do movimento sindical (Brasil, 1950-2000)

The article adopts a comparative perspective to discuss the trade union movement's position towards the informal labor market in Brazil in the 1950s, 1980s, and 1990s, based on an analysis of union discourse regarding social and employment policy. The author seeks to grasp to what extent such discourse objectifies the decommodification of the workforce. Important variables in the definition of the trade union behavior and choices include job structure, organizational format, and the relationship between the unions and the state and other actors on the Brazilian national scene. The goal is thus to identify the influence of such factors on the definition of the trade union agenda in each period.

Inequalities in Europe's SMEs: the challenges for a trade union agenda

In the context of continuing gender and race/ethnic inequalities in labour markets throughout Europe, this article uses case study material gathered in eight countries to explore equality policies and practices in SMEs. Overall the findings indicate a limited and contingent approach to equality issues on the part of SME owners and managers and an ineffective trade union challenge to the status quo. The article offers some thoughts on possible ways forward, concluding that unions have a long way to go before their rhetorical commitment to representing SME workers effectively and to pursuing an equality agenda is translated into action and practices at workplace level.

LABOR HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

LABOR HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

Adventures of Emancipatory Labour Strategy as the New Global Movement Challenges International Unionism

First suggested in the Netherlands, in the late-1980s, the notion of “Social Movement Unionism” was ?rst applied in South Africa, where it had both political and academic impact. The South-African formulation combined the class and the popular: a response to this combined class and new social movement theory/practice. The “Class/Popular” understanding was, however, more widely adopted, and applied (to and/or in Brazil, the Philippines, the USA, internationally), receiving its most in?uential formulation in the work of Kim Moody (USA). A “Class/New Social Movement” response to this was restated in terms of the “New Social Unionism.” The continuing impact of globalization and neo-liberalism has had a disorienting e?ect on even the unions supposed by the South African/USschool to best exemplify SMU, whilst simultaneously increasing trade union need for some kind of such an alternative model. Use and discussion of the notion continues. The development of the “global justice and solidarity movement” (symbolized by Seattle, 1999), and in particular the World Social Forum process, since 2001, may be putting the matter on the international trade-union agenda. But is this matter a Class/Popular alliance, a Class/New Social Movement alliance? Or both? Or something else? And are there other ways of recreating an international/ist labour movement with emancipatory intentions and e?ect? What is the future of emancipatory or utopian labour strategy in the epoch of a globalized networked capitalism, and the challenge of the Global Justice and Solidarity Movement?

A Feminist Trade Union Agenda? The Continued Significance of Class, Gender and Race

During the 1990s attempts to identify a feminist trade union agenda have focused on both the content and process of such a potential agenda. In a period in which trade unions have changed significantly, the general national agenda appears to be changing, acknowledging issues of importance to women. UNISON, Britain's largest trade union, has enshrined proportionality and fair representation in its constitution, developing national initiatives aimed at improving opportunities in work and in the union for women, black workers, manual workers, disabled workers, etc. who traditionally have been less well represented. Many issues affecting women generally have moved to centre stage, yet issues affecting women ancillary workers seem as excluded as ever. Through a study of cleaners in the National Health Service this article argues that workplace interests reflect wider social divisions, but in a variety of patterns depending on the social organization of work. Despite thewidening trade union agenda, particular interests — more specifically the workplace interests of working‐class women and black women — continue to be neglected.

Existe una clase de trabajadores que vive en la pobreza en los Países Bajos

This contribution deals with the question of the e xistence of working poor in the Netherlands. The rest of the world tends to see the Netherlands as a success story. It is against this background that we investigate whether there are people in the Netherlands that are in paid employment, but are nevertheless confronted with problems of poverty. The statistical data available at the macro-level give clear indications of the e xistence of working poor. In the light of this fact the issue of the working poor should be given a more prominent place on the political and trade union agenda. The trade unions, in particular, should play a far more active role. They should make more detailed studies of the problem, taking as their starting point the day-to-day experience of those affected, and should design measures that are commensurate with the interests of these people.

Working poor in the Netherlands?

This contribution deals with the question of the existence of 'working poor' in the Netherlands. The rest of the world tends to see the Netherlands as a success story. It is against this background that we investigate whether there are people in the Netherlands that are in paid employment, but are nevertheless confronted with problems of poverty. The statistical data available at the macro-level give clear indications of the existence of 'working poor'. In the light of this fact, the issue of the 'working poor' should be given a more prominent place on the political and trade union agenda. The trade unions, in particular, should play a far more active role. They should make more detailed studies of the problem, taking as their starting point the day-to-day experience of those affected, and should design measures that are commensurate with the interests of these people.

Trade Unions and Cleaner Production: Perspectives and Proposals for Action

Despite their reputation for linking progress and security to dirty smokestacks, many trade unions around the world have designed and fought for sophisticated environmental policies--many of which promote a radical restructuring of production in order to prevent environmental harm. This article surveys trade union perspectives on cleaner production and offers examples of trade union action for cleaner production in the United States and around the world. Two general conceptual frameworks arising out of union writing on the subject--the "Transition Position" and the European-based "Harmony of Interests"--are elaborated. The article concludes with recommendations for employee participation in pollution prevention activities and ideas for a trade union agenda on cleaner production.