Heather Connolly Libri

This book analyses contemporary trends in radical unionism in Europe. It contains nine country case-studies that probe the limits and possibilities of trade union renewal with a focus on radical activity. The editors follow a broad definition of radical unionism, including trade union organisations that can be characterised as radical either in terms of ideology and political identity or in terms of organising and mobilising activity. The ongoing economic crisis and consequent austerity measures, and employers’ strategies for increasing labour market flexibility have encouraged the deregulation of capitalism in Europe. The question this book asks is whether radicalised unionism, political action and grassroots activism present opportunities for union renewal and collective interest representation in this economic context. This question is examined in nine national contexts with diverse industrial relations frameworks and trade unions. The editors assess the degree to which we are witnessing the emergence of ‘radical political unionism’ as an alternative model of trade unionism in Europe, focused on class struggle, engagement in social movement activity beyond the workplace, and politicised union strategies aligned to new left-wing political formations.

Drawing on ethnographic research in the breakaway trade union movement Fédération des Syndicats Solidaires, Unitaires et Démocratiques (SUD), this book explores broad questions of trade union renewal in France. The SUD movement emerged in 1988 with the avowed intention to revitalise French trade unionism. Since its emergence the movement has increasingly been cited as a prime instigator of social unrest in France. In a wider context of union decline in Europe, this research considers to what extent and in what ways SUD has been able to develop and sustain collective organisation, identity and mobilisation. Research was conducted in a local-level union of SUD-Rail, a union which emerged in the French public railway sector in 1996 from an ideological split within one of France’s largest trade union confederations, the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT). From an ethnographic perspective, the book contributes a thick description of trade unionism at the local level and, drawing on social movement theory, analyses activists’ attempts to confront and renew practices and structures in trade unionism. The book evaluates the success of the SUD movement and the prospects for a more sustained renewal of French trade unionism.