Trade Union Powers
Trade Union Powers

Author: Elísio Estanque

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2020-10-27

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1527561399

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book analyses trade unions’ capacities of resistance following the period of austerity and “bailout crisis” in Portugal (2011-2015). Considering the destructive impacts of those policies on the working class and their unions, it explores three case studies in three productive sectors: the metal sector (Autoeuropa/VW); the telecommunications sector (PT-Telecom/Altice); and the transport sector (TAP – Air Portugal). In order to gather empirical information, the study uses qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews and focus groups. The book shows that social dumping, brutal unemployment growth, increasing poverty levels, spreading precariousness, wage cuts and labour rights suppression were some of the consequences of this period on the working class and trade unions. Drawing on the “power resources” theoretical approach, it shows how trade unions were able to react and “reinvent” themselves in terms of certain forms of power, while others “imploded” or were relegated to a marginal role.

Transnational Trade Unionism
Transnational Trade Unionism

Author: Peter Fairbrother

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-08-22

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 1136681841

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Transnational trade union action has expanded significantly over the last few decades and has taken a variety of shapes and trajectories. This book is concerned with understanding the spatial extension of trade union action, and in particular the development of new forms of collective mobilization, network-building, and forms of regulation that bridge local and transnational issues. Through the work of leading international specialists, this collection of essays examines the process and dynamic of transnational trade union action and provides analytical and conceptual tools to understand these developments. The research presented here emphasizes that the direction of transnational solidarity remains contested, subject to experimentation and negotiation, and includes studies of often overlooked developments in transition and developing countries with original analyses from the European Union and NAFTA areas. Providing a fresh examination of transnational solidarity, this volume offers neither a romantic or overly optimistic narrative of a borderless unionism, nor does it fall into a fatalistic or pessimistic account of international union solidarity. Through original research conducted at different levels, this book disentangles the processes and dynamics of institution building and challenges the conventional national based forms of unionism that prevailed in the latter half of the twentieth century.

The New Politics of British Trade Unionism
The New Politics of British Trade Unionism

Author: David Marsh

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9780875467047

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is an introduction to the politics of trade unionism in contemporary Britain, assessing the major changes in legislation, policing and attitudes since 1979 as well as the broader social and economic trends to which these have been a response.

There Is Power in a Union
There Is Power in a Union

Author: Philip Dray

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 818

ISBN-13: 0307389766

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From the nineteenth-century textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the triumph of unions in the twentieth century and their waning influence today, the contest between labor and capital for the American bounty has shaped our national experience. In this stirring new history, Philip Dray shows us the vital accomplishments of organized labor and illuminates its central role in our social, political, economic, and cultural evolution. His epic, character-driven narrative not only restores to our collective memory the indelible story of American labor, it also demonstrates the importance of the fight for fairness and economic democracy, and why that effort remains so urgent today.

Who Rules America Now?
Who Rules America Now?

Author: G. William Domhoff

Publisher: Touchstone

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

Organizing Matters
Organizing Matters

Author: Guy Mundlak

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2020-05-29

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1839104031

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Organizing Matters demonstrates the interplay between two distinct logics of labour’s collective action: on the one hand, workers coming together, usually at their place of work, entrusting the union to represent their interests and, on the other hand, social bargaining in which the trade union constructs labour’s interests from the top down. The book investigates the tensions and potential complementarities between the two logics through the combination of a strong theoretical framework and an extensive qualitative case study of trade union organizing and recruitment in four countries – Austria, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands. These countries still utilize social-wide bargaining but find it necessary to draw and develop strategies transposed from Anglo-American countries in response to continuously declining membership.

Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions
Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions

Author: Caroline Kelly

Publisher: Anthem Press

Published: 2021-09-07

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1785277812

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Trade unions worldwide face a powerful paradox at this critical juncture: collective organisations for workers are urgently needed and yet there are serious pressures undercutting the legitimate role of trade unions. The aim of this book is to examine how trade unions can effectively navigate this deeply contradictory challenge. It is underpinned by the conviction that trade unions are – and should be – vital institutions for democracy and social justice. Written by leading scholars in industrial relations and labour law as well as those in political philosophy and political science, the collection tackles a range of pressing topics for trade unions including: the climate crisis; the COVID-19 pandemic; economic democracy; democracy within trade unions; precarious work; and election campaigns.