Fairbrother,
Peter, Christian Lévesque and Marc-Antonin Hennebert (eds) (2013) Transnational
Trade Unionism: Building Union Power. London: Routledge.
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.
Review:
"Drawing on top
scholars in the field, this new volume offers concepts and analytical tools to
further our understanding of the rapidly expanding varieties of transnational
trade unionism." – Edward Webster, University of
Witwatersrand, South Africa
