Political, general, or economic strikes? New types of strikes and workers' contention (original) (raw)
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Global Labour Journal, 2018
The Great Recession and the upsurge of widespread social movements in various crisis-ridden countries have given new impetus to the debate on the relationship between economic breakdown and the occurrence of collective action. I revisit the issue by examining strike activity in Spain between 2002 and 2013. For a better understanding of the continuities and changes, I contrast two sets of literature on industrial conflict. The first deals with economic factors influencing strikes or, in other words, with the question of whether and how fluctuations in manpower supply and demand account for continuities and changes in strike activity. The second advocates for a look beyond the economy, towards the political exchange that takes place between unions and state actors and which, depending on its positive or negative nature, leads to shifts of the distributional struggle away from the marketplace towards the public arena or vice versa. The findings reveal that, rather than exclusive, the two perspectives prove to be mutually conducive and are most significant when they are combined. The political exchange model is helpful for understanding the rather stable or even declining strike frequency prior to the economic crisis but also the three nationwide general strikes in 2010 and 2012, which represented a rupture in the social consensus. If the general strikes are left aside, the economic variables come into play: an increased strike frequency during the economic crisis is in fact accompanied by a shift towards smaller strikes related to a single workplace, and to so-called "defensive" strikes. This indicates that an actual decrease in workers' bargaining power was overcompensated by a growing number of circumstances in which the recourse to strike action became a means of last resort.
Empiria. Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales, 2021
During the past half century, the study of social contention has been characterized by a division between research on labor movements and studies on other social movements. This division also left its mark on the study of modes of action: while labor scholars mainly examined strikes, social movement scholars have increasingly come to focus on street protests. This article is a contribution to bridging the gap between the two research areas both on theoretical and empirical levels. On a theoretical level, I discuss the usefulness of combining economic and political models of contention from the two research areas. On an empirical level, I use official data provided by Spanish ministries to examine and relate the workers’ use of strikes and street protests between 2000 and 2016 in Spain. Examining strikes and street protests jointly does not only provide a fuller picture, it also helps to discern contrasts and thus the specificities of each mode of action. En el último medio siglo, lo...
Globalizations, 2019
After the Fiat-Chrysler merger in 2009, CEO Sergio Marchionne imposed a drastic reorganization of labour relations in Italy's plants, precipitating a profound crisis of the system of industrial relations in the country. But between 2015 and 2017 a significant section of workers at Melfi, Atessa and Termoli plants went on strike against compulsory overtime and labour intensification, establishing links with grassroots unions that successfully organized in logistics. The metalworkers' union FIOM-CGIL, however, delegitimized the union representatives who resisted Marchionne's plans. In this article, we trace the context and development of these still little-known strikes. Because of their growing institutionalization, we argue, the confederal unions (CGIL, CISL, UIL) have both failed to mobilize workers and repressed workers' attempts to resist the deterioration of their conditions. The strikes at FCA and in logistics, however, show that new forms of radical unionism are emerging, pointing to new possibilities for working-class organizing.
2012
Social conflicts tend to take different forms. This article compares three demonstrations on issues of social justice in Italy: a traditional Labor Day demonstration, a march supporting a general strike called by the largest trade union CGIL (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Italian General Confederation of Labour), and the EuroMayDay parade, representing a "new" type of movement. Focusing on conceptions of democracy among activists, the article stresses that the economic crisis is a crisis of representative democracy as well. Protestors on social justice and labor rights expressed extremely low levels of trust in government, parliament, and political parties; the lowest levels were found among younger participants. At the same time, this lack of trust is coupled with confidence in the capacity of the citizens— especially if organized at the international level—to take the world into their hands. Despite high levels of distrust, demonstrators believe that one must strengthen all levels of government to be able to address social inequality—politics must regain control over the market.
Protest in Italy in Times of Crisis: A Cross-Government Comparison
Routledge eBooks, 2020
Using protest event analysis methodology and conceptual and theoretical toolkits developed in social movement studies, this article analyses protest mobilisation during the period of the height of the economic crisis in Italy (2009-14) by comparing the protest trends in diachronic and comparative perspectives over a period of four different governments. Data show that the Italian anti-austerity protest arena was dominated by 'old actors', and was not able to produce the strong social and political coalitions that emerged in other southern European countries. This was due to the specific relationship that developed between civil society and political parties which shaped the forms of antiausterity mobilisation in this period.
Strikes and Protests: What are they, Comparatively?
This paper is a description of the roles the family members play in times of strikes by workers of differentiated organisations and also protests. Strikes and protests are then comparatively discussed. You are allowed to make comments and feedback
Economic and Political Strikes: A Social Movement Unionism Hypothesis
Socialism and Democracy, 2023
The European economic and political landscape has undergone significant changes since the 2008 economic and financial crisis. The 2008 economic downturn resulted in widespread job losses, reduced bargaining power for workers, and increased job insecurity, triggering a global recession that led to significant economic and political changes, including increased social unrest and protests (Rüdig and Karyotis 2014; Kriesi et al. 2020). In the aftermath of the crisis, economic and political strikes around the world have increased. Strikes have been observed in several European countries, especially in
Cycles of labour protests: public and private sector unions' contentious actions
This paper aims to examine the cycle of labour protests in Sweden, comparing the contentious actions of trade unions in public and private sectors over 40 years. Prior studies have focused on industrial conflicts or labour protests, but a long-term perspective on the broad protest repertoire across sectors is lacking. The goal is to test the argument of diversification of action repertoire and differences between the public and private sectors. The authors apply the grievance and political opportunity theories of social movement research for explaining the cycles of labour protests and differences between sectors in Sweden over 40 years (1980-2020). The unique protest event data are combined with the official strike statistics. The research period includes the globalisation of the economy and two economic crises. Although unions in both sectors have decreased protest mobilisation over time, private sector unions have resigned the most, whereas public sector unions continue to mobilise a diverse set of protest actions. Swedish unions have not replaced strikes with other protest repertoires. The open opportunities have allowed them to use various protests as part of "routine" operations. Protest event data are derived from newspapers, leading to an overrepresentation of large events in the urban areas. Future studies should combine data from newspapers with data about online protests. Originality/value-By thoroughly examining all protest events mobilised by all trade unions in different sectors over 40 years (1980-2020), the paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the cycles of labour protest. The findings should interest industrial relations and social movement scholars.