International Labor Revitalization: Enlarging the Playing Field

This survey of international union strategies distinguishes between approaches that add microeconomic value, adjust institutional frameworks, and enlarge the "playing field" on which unions organize and represent worker interests. It considers unions' efforts across advanced capitalist economies to use the latter approach to solve public goods problems while organizing new members. This strategy is limited by difficulties of coordinating multiple social interests but holds revitalizing potential by adding social value in times of socioeconomic instability.     

The Enduring Alliance? Trade Unions and the Making of New Labour, 1994–1997

The period of Tony Blair's leadership preceding the 1997 general election saw a transformation of the Labour Party. This was of immense importance to the political role of trade unions. The emergence of New Labour can only be understood through analysis of developments in both party and unions. This paper discusses the recasting of the party's industrial politics and reform of party structure, locating its provenance in electoral, representational and governmental strategies. It examines the unions' response, rooted in their industrial predicament but shaped by political reaction to it. Union politics intersected but did not coincide with the policies of New Labour. Political differentiation in the unions and opposition to New Labour is considered. It is concluded that change represents restructuring rather than termination of the link, but it will be further tested with New Labour in government.     

Public Opinion, Trade Unions and Mrs Thatcher

This article builds upon the explanation of the rise in trade union popularity developed by P. K. Edwards and G. S. Bain in a previous volume of this journal. The Gallup Opinion Poll data indicate that, while the public have consistently thought unions to be a good thing, they have equally consistently opposed any political activity by unions and the unions' use of 'unsavoury' tactics. These are exactly the activities which the Thatcher trade union legislation has restricted. As such, it is suggested that the rise in popularity of unions in the second and third terms of the Thatcher government reflect, in part, the fact that the public thinks they have now got the type of unions they always wanted: unions with a constrained ability to bargain collectively with employers.     

Third among Equals: An Analysis of the 1989 Ambulance Dispute

This article traces the course of the 1989–90 ambulance dispute, reviews the unions' industrial, parliamentary and media strategies and evaluates the outcome. The decision by the ambulance unions to maintain an accident and emergency service throughout the dispute, to try to win public support and to use a single spokesperson were critical factors in determining the outcome.     

Union Formation through Merger: The Case of Ver.di in Germany

This article is concerned with the recent merger of five German unions to form the new multi‐industry union, ver.di. Its focus is on the effects of the merger and on developments in the post‐merger phase. The article explores the various internal problems of the new union, concentrating on those that flow from the adoption of a matrix form of organisation. It deals also with the external relations of ver.di, with other unions and with the central organisation of German trade unions, the DGB. Central conclusions here are that the creation of ver.di is likely to exacerbate competition amongst German unions and further erode the position of the peak association.     

The Impact of European Integration and German Unification on Industrial Relations in Germany

Can the present turmoil in German industrial relations be attributed to the effects of the Single Market, or to unification, or to other factors? European regulation or legislation may intervene in the German industrial relations system, may remove responsibilities from national actors, or may, by deregulation, induce stronger interdependence between national regimes. Various instances are considered to evaluate the actual and potential EU impact on German industrial relations. The evidence suggests that fears of ‘social dumping’ in the richer member-states are largely unfounded, and that the effects of unification and the recession on German industrial relations are currently more significant than the impact of European integration.     

The Composition of Union Membership: The Role of Pensioners in Italy

This paper considers changes in the membership composition of the three leading Italian trade union confederations during the last fifteen years. The analysis emphasizes the remarkable growth of membership among pensioners and the drop in active workers. The key issue here is that intergenerational aspects of unions' membership components are taken into account in the bargaining process. Unions internalize unemployment externalities on pension benefits resultant on the wage outcome as they consider the welfare of all their members in the economy. A formulation of the union monopoly model with endogenous membership supports these findings, while the econometric evaluation of the membership component effects shows that unions are forced to pursue wage moderation and improvements in employment conditions.     

In Unions We Trust! Analysing Confidence in Unions across Europe

Public institutions and trade unions in particular are often portrayed as facing a deep crisis. In order to better understand to what extent unions are still perceived as legitimate institutions from the society as a whole (working and non‐working individuals), we analyse the determinants of confidence in unions across 14 European countries between 1981 and 2009. Confidence in unions is explained through individual‐level variables (by a rational and an ideational mechanism) and contextual‐level factors (relevant economic and employment relations characteristics). Using data from the European Values Study (EVS) merged with contextual datasets, we develop a series of regression models to examine the main determinants of confidence in unions. We demonstrate that confidence in unions cannot only be traced back to the support from members and left‐wing oriented individuals but it is also related to non‐working individuals and vulnerable social groups, in particular when confronted with economic shocks. Our findings challenge both the ‘crisis of confidence’ in institutions and the ‘crisis of unionism’ narratives. Implications for union representation and organizing strategies are discussed.     

The 'Skill-oriented' Strategies of German Trade Unions: Their Impact on Efficiency and Equality Objectives

In the present debate about options for the modernization of trade unions, the predominant argument being propounded is that trade unions and workers' representatives at plant level should take more 'responsibility' for the competitiveness of the firms. Among other things, they are advised to enter into 'alliances' with management at the level of qualification politics. This paper considers some important collective bargaining arrangements which the German trade unions have negotiated over the last few years in order to improve mutually beneficial further training decisions within German firms. The emphasis is on the potential of different agreements for achieving efficiency and equality objectives in the context of contemporary changes in production and restructuring processes.     

The Foundations of Social Partnership

‘Social partnership’ between capital and labour is a distinctive characteristic of German industrial relations. Based on a survey of 142 German employers’ associations, we investigate differences in their support for partnership with unions. We find that organizational characteristics (e.g. membership density) as well as positive experiences with their union counterparts explain why employers’ associations adhere to the norms of social partnership. Building on an analysis that combines political and organizational institutionalism, we find that the positive evaluation of social partnership held by employers is associated with their positive experiences in more recent interactions with unions in collective bargaining, a more encompassing definition of an association's policy domain and a long‐term history of mutual collaboration.     

Two Cheers for Corporatism, One for the Market: Industrial Relations, Wage Moderation and Job Growth in the Netherlands

The success of economic policies in the Netherlands with regard to enhancing job growth and bringing down unemployment has attracted international attention, especially against the background of persistent high unemployment in many continental European countries. The paper considers the role of Dutch industrial relations, and in particular trade unions, in the turnaround from the 'Dutch disease' to the current 'employment miracle'. It is argued that Dutch unions, weakened by the severe jobs and membership crisis of the early 1980s but assured of continued institutional support, have chosen a public-regarding 'jobs before wages' strategy. The two main features are continued wage moderation and negotiated flexibility of working hours, particularly part-time jobs. The paper stresses the importance of co-ordination within the unions as well as between unions and employers, and compares the contents, causes and consequences of the two central accords of 1982 and 1993. Finally, it considers the renewal of Dutch corporatism in an environment of increased market pressure.     

Trade Unions and Productivity: The German Evidence

This paper provides a brief review of the empirical evidence on union productivity effects in Germany. The influence of trade unions on productivity is the net effect of conflicting forces which can lead to higher or lower productivity. Although the German dual system of workers' representation via unions and works councils is quite favourable to the existence of productivity-enhancing 'voice' effects, various empirical studies have not been able to detect significant positive net effects of these institutions on productivity.     

Trade unions and new technology in West Germany

The attitudes and policy orientations of the West German unions to the development and utilisation of new technologies have changed substantially over the past three decades. Contemporary union policies are more critical and more politically oriented: the changes which they seek, to more successfully influence technological developments, have potentially crucial significance for the future character and stability of the West German industrial relations system.     

German Employers’ Inputs to Employee Skills Development

Using organizational level survey data, this article analyzes larger German private employers’ inputs to employee skills development, to test the theory that unions and employers’ associations raise employer incentives for training. Large German employers maintained their overall contribution between 1995 and 1999. Indicative data for 2004 suggest that this has continued, yet neither membership of employers’ associations nor high union densities influenced it.     

(Re‐)Locating the Local and National in the Global: Multi‐Scalar Political Alignment in Transnational European Dockworker Union Campaigns

Labour activists have called for greater international co‐ordination among trade unions in response to the assault on organized labour by global capital, but such co‐ordination faces many hurdles. Under what conditions can unions overcome those barriers and co‐ordinate effectively to achieve campaign goals? I examine this question through a comparison of European‐level international solidarity with Portuguese, Greek and English affiliates of the International Dockworkers Council involved in labour disputes. The divergent outcomes of otherwise similar cases reveal the critical role of politics and strategy at different scales and sites of union organization in determining the successful exercise of labour internationalism.     

Among the Ashes: Trade Union Strategies in the UK and German Steel Industries

The trade unions in the steel industry have faced two waves of restructuring, the first centring on closures, capacity reductions and mass redundancies, the second involving fundamental changes to patterns of work organization, labour utilization and industrial relations. Overall, the trade unions involved have failed to develop an adequate response to management-led change, relying instead on traditional methods and lines of interest representation. The challenges embodied in such developments as teamworking and craft restructuring are considered, together with union responses and the structural and ideological constraints on those responses. Contrasts are drawn with more successful union involvement in comparable changes in the German steel industry. In the conclusion, the authors review the dilemmas facing the UK unions in the steel industry and the main areas for a new agenda.     

What Explains the Union Membership Gap between Migrants and Natives?

This article explores the differences in unionization rates between migrant and native‐born workers in 23 European countries. It explores whether individual characteristics or contextual factors explain the variation across countries in the degree of trade unions’ inclusion of migrant workers. The analyses show that individual characteristics cannot explain the variation in the difference between migrant and native unionization rates. Characteristics of the industrial relations regime in the country of destination, in particular the institutional embeddedness of trade unions, affect the likelihood that migrants join trade unions as compared to native workers.     

Do Immigrants Trust Trade Unions? A Study of 18 European Countries

Migrants form growing proportions of national workforces in advanced capitalist societies. Yet little is known about their attitudes towards the principal agents of worker representation in their host countries, the trade unions, much less via cross-national research. Using European Values Survey data, we redress this imbalance by examining migrants’ levels of trust in unions, compared to native-born. We find higher levels of trust in unions by migrants (compared to native-born) in general and especially by migrants during their first decades after arrival and whose countries of origin are characterized by poor quality institutions. These findings have significant implications for unionization strategies towards migrants, especially given received wisdom portraying migrants as indifferent or distrustful towards unions.     

Union Recognition and Paid Holiday Entitlement

This paper investigates the impact of unions in Britain on employees' entitlements to paid holidays. Theory suggests that longer holidays may be negotiated through collective than through individual bargaining. Data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey are used to estimate the 'gap' between the paid holiday entitlements of workers with and without recognized unions. The results indicate that unions have a substantial impact on paid holiday entitlement. This paper also shows that the European Union Directive on Working Time may affect the holidays of about one and a quarter million workers.     

Transferring Labor Institutions to Emerging Economies: The Case of East Germany

The formal transfer of West German industrial relations institutions into the East has been successful. Yet the literature is sceptical about the extent to which supportive attitudes and behavior among the actors have been developed. This article compares unionized workers' reactions toward their new unions and works councils in the East and West German textile and apparel industry. The research, first of its kind, shows that East Germans do not significantly differ in their attitudes from their western colleagues and that overall there is a strong support for the new institutions.