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How can trade unions act strategically?

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  • Richard Hyman

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

It is generally agreed that trade unions require new strategies to respond to external and internal challenges. Economic internationalisation makes it easier for employers to escape national structures of employment regulation, and appears to weaken the ability of governments to defend nationally-based social models; sectoral and occupational shifts in employment erode traditional union strongholds, while social and ideological changes undermine workers' traditional orientation to collectivism. Yet what do we mean by trade union strategy, and how can it be modernised? This article addresses in particular the literatures on organisational learning, social capital and vocabularies of motive to explore how the twin principles of leadership and democracy can be harnessed to meet the challenges of the ‘new’ capitalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Hyman, 2007. "How can trade unions act strategically?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 13(2), pages 193-210, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:13:y:2007:i:2:p:193-210
    DOI: 10.1177/102425890701300204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard M. Locke & Kathleen Thelen, 1995. "Apples and Oranges Revisited: Contextualized Comparisons and the Study of Comparative Labor Politics," Politics & Society, , vol. 23(3), pages 337-367, September.
    2. Schmidt, Vivien A., 2002. "The Futures of European Capitalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199253685.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tom Hunt & Heather Connolly, 2023. "Covid‐19 and the work of trade unions: Adaptation, transition and renewal," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 150-166, March.
    2. Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2010. "The legitimacy of collective actors and trade union renewal," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 351-367, August.
    3. Davide Però & John Downey, 2024. "Advancing Workers’ Rights in the Gig Economy through Discursive Power: The Communicative Strategies of Indie Unions," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(1), pages 140-160, February.
    4. Steffen Lehndorff, 2015. "Acting in different worlds. Challenges to transnational trade union cooperation in the eurozone crisis," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(2), pages 157-170, May.
    5. Alex Pazaitis & Vasilis Kostakis & Michel Bauwens, 2017. "Digital economy and the rise of open cooperativism: the case of the Enspiral Network," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 177-192, May.
    6. Gregor Murray, 2017. "Union renewal: what can we learn from three decades of research?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(1), pages 9-29, February.
    7. Michele Ford & Michael Gillan, 2022. "Understanding global union repertoires of action," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 559-577, November.
    8. Maria da Paz Campos Lima & Antonio Martín Artiles, 2011. "Crisis and trade union challenges in Portugal and Spain: between general strikes and social pacts," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 17(3), pages 387-402, August.
    9. Christian Lévesque & Gregor Murray, 2010. "Understanding union power: resources and capabilities for renewing union capacity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 333-350, August.

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