TY - JOUR T1 - International Trade Union Solidarity and the Impact of the Crisis JF - Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies Y1 - 2015 A1 - Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick A1 - Richard Hyman KW - Europe KW - globalization KW - solidarity KW - trade unions AB -

In this paper we first explore the diverse meaning(s) of solidarity, particularly with regard to trade unions. In particular we focus on understandings which focus on a shared identity, on common interests and on mutuality despite difference. We relate these different conceptions to the problematic concept of class. We then discuss the forms which international trade union solidarity takes and the difficulties which it encounters, at global and European levels. There is always a tension between long-term idealism and short-term pragmatism, which means that the achievement of solidarity is always incomplete. Solidarity is never ‘natural’, it must always be constructed against the odds. We go on to examine the impact of the financial and economic crisis at European level, which has accentuated some of the tensions in achieving solidarity within and between countries. We end with a discussion of how solidarity might be reconstructed under particularly adverse circumstances.

VL - 1 L2 - eng UR - http://www.sieps.se/sites/default/files/2015_1epa%20eng%20A4%20korr7.pdf ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Understanding European Trade Unionism: Between Market, Class and Society Y1 - 2001 A1 - Richard Hyman KW - Europe KW - globalization KW - trade unionism KW - trade unions KW - unionism AB -

In this comprehensive overview of trade unionism in Europe and beyond, Richard Hyman offers a fresh perspective on trade union identity, ideology and strategy. He shows how the varied forms and impact of different national movements reflect historical choices on whether to emphasize a role as market bargainers, mobilizers of class opposition or partners in social integration. The book demonstrates how these inherited traditions can serve as both resources and constraints in responding to the challenges which confront trade unions in today's working world.

PB - Sage Publications CY - London L2 - eng ER -