Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hannover, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-276).

This thesis investigates what factors affect union organization and, to some degree, union activity in the face of declining union density in the majority of Western countries. Union structures have been changing in recent decades, not only in terms of declining membership but also because women and white-collar workers are becoming a more stable part of the membership base, whereas previously highly organized groups, such as blue-collar workers, are in decline. The point of departure for this thesis is that union density changes must be understood on several different levels. Thus, we must investigate changing union density in light of changing institutional settings, changing labour market structures and changing norms and values on the individual level. The thesis consists of three empirical studies investigating union density changes and union activity in Sweden, and an introductory chapter that develops the theoretical and empirical (historical) background. The empirical studies investigate: (1) whether and how the influence of various aspects of class and ideology on union organization have changed over time, (2) the effect of structural change on union density increase and decline, and(3) what factors influence different attitudes towards industrial action among Swedish employees. Results show that union density decline in Sweden since the mid-1990s cannot be explained by any forceful shifts in the labour market structure or individuals’ opinions and/or attitudes related to trade unions to any significant degree. Union density decline in Sweden is of a general nature. However, an increasing divergence in union density across various categories of employees, including, e.g., private-sector vs. public-sector employees, young vs. older employees, employees of foreign origin vs. employees of Swedish origin, and the atypically employed vs. employees with standardized employment, is observed. Moreover, previously strong predictors of union membership, including class identity, ideology, sector of employment and type of employment contract, are in decline, but they still influence union organization and attitudes towards industrial action. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

The paper's objective is to analyze the work of the Revolutionary Union Organization (ROH) in the Czechoslovak economy of the 1980s. The basic thesis of the paper is the assumption that ROH bodies preferred the interests of the representatives of the Czechoslovak Communist Party to those of workers. The relationship is analyzed on the basis of the employment legislation of the time and the impact of the union organization in its drafting. The paper also examines the contribution of the union organization in the course of the revolutionary changes in Czechoslovak society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The analysis is based on a critique of sources from that era and a comparison of the role of the ROH in the 1980s and the role of the unions during Prague Spring. On the basis of the objectives set for this paper, the conclusion is that the ROH did have an impact on the work lives of working people, but its leadership lacked funds and, above all, the willingness to effectively protect the interests of working people. Hence, until December 1989, the ROH remained an organization serving, above all, the interests of the Communist Party.

MOTIVACÓNEl papel predominante atribuido por los historiadores a la Organización Sindical Española (en adelante OSE) o Sindicato Vertical ha sido el de órgano de encuadramiento y represión de la mano de obra al servicio de la protección de los intereses de la burguesía industrial y de los propietarios agrícolas y , en última instancia, la contribución a la permanencia de un régimen político dictatorial.Las referencias a la institución en las obras sobre el Franquismo han motivado la elección de dicho objeto de análisis pues, aceptadas las anteriores premisas, la finalidad de esta investigación estriba en el estudio de los mecanismos de gestión de la OSE, los medios empleados, la maquinaria de poder desplegada, en suma, la estructura interna de la propia institución y su trayectoria histórica.HIPÓTESIS DE TRABAJOLa hipótesis del trabajo pretende ampliar la caracterización de la OSE por considerar reduccionista la limitación de sus funciones a un órgano institucional de clases de servicio , es decir, a un poder encuadrador.Así pues, a lo largo de la presente investigación se analizan las siguientes funciones:Asistencial, en conexión con ministerios y organismos oficiales con los que la OSE tuvo una relación de entidad subsidiaria.Social , promoviendo la unidad laboral, la quietud económica y el consenso al régimen.Política , ejerciendo la representatividad de los trabajadores que confería a la institución oficial la Democracia Orgánica.CONCLUSIONESEl primer aspecto a destacar es el sincretismo y la capacidad de adaptación del sindicato Vertical, su evolución y aptitud para el camuflaje en la dimensión teórica e ideológica.Desde 1960 tuvo que compatibilizar los componentes más rígidos de sus presupuestos nacionalsindicalistas, propios de la posguerra y la autarquía, con los instrumentos de la negociación colectiva, los enlaces sindicales, los congresos y órganos deliberantes y las relaciones con sindicatos europeos en el seno de la OIT.Sin embargo, la modernización puramente cosmética siguió conviviendo con la retórica de los vencedores del 18 de Julio.El segundo aspecto a constatar es que la función de encuadramiento y represión de la fuerza laboral, aún permaneciendo con capacidad de actuación , fue quedando subsumida desde los a-os cincuenta en las dos funciones que justificaron la inserción del Sindicato Vertical en el entramado institucional franquista: la asistencial, a través de la Vicesecretaría de Obras Sindicales y la social, a través de la Vicesecretaría de Ordenación Social.Por contraste, los Sindicatos de Rama eran simples estructuras orgánicas sobre el papel, que se constituyeron tardíamente y que remitían a los trabajadores a las vicesecretarías mencionadas para resolver cualquier cuestión.El tercer aspecto a plantear es el porqué de la perduración del verticalismo durante y después del franquismo, pues la institución se desmanteló en 1977.Si la OSE se hizo imprescindible se debió a que aunque institucionalmente dependiera de otras instancias (fundamentalmente el Ministerio de Trabajo) estaba donde había que estar para obtener poder de hecho, influencia social, económica y política : presente en Ayuntamientos y Diputaciones Provinciales, cerca de los Gobiernos Civiles y bien relacionada con la Iglesia y la Universidad.Al actuar como agencia de colocación para un abundante cuerpo de burocracia media y como espacio de promoción política para la alta burocracia (secretarios, delegados y letrados sindicales) la OSE se aseguró de que un cúmulo de intereses individuales y corporativos justificaran su persistencia temporal.Por último, cabe incidir en las huellas que dejó la OSE en la sociedad coetánea a través de dos ideas generalizadas sobre el funcionariado y la institución: que sus trámites eran lentos e ineficaces pero su capacidad gestora resultaba imprescindible, pues abarcaba gran cantidad de competencias referidas a la vida cotidiana y que era un nido de paniaguados al que muchos se acercaban para medrar, para buscar un sitio en la invertebrada sociedad civil del franquismo. / Reasons The predominant role attributed by historians to the Spanish Union Organization (O.S.E.) or Vertical Union has been that of framing and repression organ of manpower to protect the interests of the industrial bourgeoisie and those of the landowners and, ultimately, the contribution to the permanency of a dictatorial regime.The references to the institution in the works on Franco's regime have motivated the election of this subject as, once the previous premises accepted, the purpose of this investigation rests in the study of the administration mechanisms of O.S.E., the means it used, the power mechanisms carried out, in short, the internal structure of this institution and its historical trajectory.Work hypothesis.The initial hypothesis of the work tries to enlarge the characterization of the O.S.E. as we consider that the limitation of its functions to a "institutional organ of classes of service", that is to say, to a framing power, is reductionist.Therefore, throughout the present investigation the following functions are analyzed: Welfare Function, in connection with ministries and official organisms with which the O.S.E. had a relation of subsidiary entity.Social Function, promoting the labour unity, the economic stillness and the consent to the regime.Political Function, exercising the representativeness of workers that conferred the Organic Democracy to the official union institution.Conclusions.The first aspect to highlight is the syncretism and adaptation ability of the Vertical Union, its evolution and aptitude for the camouflage in the theoretical or ideological dimension.Since 1960, the Vertical Union had to coordinate the most rigid components in their union national budgets, characteristic of the post-war period and the autarchy, with the instruments of the collective negotiation, the union connections, the congresses and deliberative organs and the relationships with European unions in the heart of O.I.T.However, the purely cosmetic modernization continued cohabiting with the rhetoric of the winners of July 18th.The second aspect to verify is that the labour force framing and repression functions, still having a performance capacity, was being integrated since the fifties in the two functions that justified the insertion of the vertical union in Franco's institutional network: the welfare function, through the vicesecretariat of Union Works, and the social one, through the vicesecretariat of Social Organization.On the contrary, the branch unions were simple organic structures on the paper that were constituted belatedly and which sent the workers to the vicesecretariats above mentioned to solve any question.The third aspect to outline is the reason why the Vertical Union lasted during Franco's regime and after it, as the institution was dismantled in 1977.If the O.S.E. became essential, it was due to the fact that although, institutionally, it depended on other instances (fundamentally on the Ministry of Work) it was where it was necessary to be to obtain the actual power, social, economic and politic influence: it was present in City Councils and Provincial Delegations, near the Civil Governments and well related to the Church and the University.As it worked as an employment agency for a great number of middle bureaucrats and as a way of political promotion for the high bureaucracy (secretaries, delegates and union lawyers) the O.S.E. made sure that a heap of particular and corporate interests justified its temporary persistence.Finally, it is necessary to underline the marks that the O.S.E left in the contemporary society through two widespread ideas on the civil servants and the institution: that its steps were slow and ineffective but its managing capacity was essential, because it embraced many daily life competences and that it was a nest of paniaguados where many people came closer to thrive, to look for a place in the spineless civil society of Franco'sregime..This term has not got a literal translation in English. Originally it means a person who is protected or favoured by a high position person (noble, bishop, etc.). In a figurative sense it is applied to people who are comfortably related to a post or institution where they do not have to work too much and from which they depend because of vested interests.

Cette recherche fait état de la crise du syndicalisme qui affecte la capacité d’action et l’efficacité des pratiques des organisations syndicales à travers le monde. Elle dresse un portrait complet des éléments de crise qu’elle décline sous les niveaux économique, politique et social. Cette recherche expose ainsi la nécessité d’un renouveau syndical pour porter précisément sur les coalitions, hétérogènes notamment, comme stratégie de renouveau syndical. Au plan analytique, elle évalue l’impact de l’identité et de la capacité organisationnelle d’une organisation syndicale aux Philippines sur son choix de se coaliser, mais aussi l’influence de ses objectifs et du contexte national dans lequel elle évolue. Les données empiriques pour mener cette étude proviennent principalement de près de 24 entrevues semi-dirigées, tenues auprès de représentants de l’une des plus grandes organisations syndicales des Philippines, de représentants d’organisations non syndicales alliées et de répondants externes à celle-ci. Premièrement, nos résultats montrent qu’une identité collective sociétale forte influence favorablement le choix de l’organisation syndicale étudiée de se coaliser. Elle confirme également le rôle essentiel de l’identité dans l’orientation de son action collective. Deuxièmement, nos résultats permettent de conclure qu’une capacité organisationnelle forte influence favorablement le choix de cette organisation syndicale de se coaliser, considérant qu’elle permet à celle-ci d’identifier les opportunités d’action, de mettre en œuvre de nouvelles stratégies et d’assurer la légitimité et la mobilisation des membres quant aux actions entreprises. De nos résultats ressort l’importance de l’éducation sur l’accroissement de la capacité organisationnelle et, particulièrement, sur la formation et le renforcement de l’identité collective de l’organisation syndicale étudiée. Plus encore, nos résultats exposent l’interaction entre les dimensions de l’identité et de la capacité organisationnelle : précisément, nous avons observé une relation de renforcement positif entre ces deux variables. Troisièmement, nos résultats mettent de l’avant l’interaction entre les différents niveaux de transformations résultantes de sa participation à différents types de coalitions. Ainsi dans le cas observé, l’obtention de transformation au plan intraorganisationnel permet à rebours d’obtenir des transformations au plan extraorganisationnel et vice-versa. Finalement, le contexte répressif des Philippines et les objectifs de l’organisation syndicale étudiée apparaissent favorables à son choix de se coaliser à différents niveaux (local, régional, national et international). / This research aims to survey the crisis, which affects the effectiveness and action-readiness of labor unions around the world. It portrays crisis elements happening at the economic, political and social levels, thus exposing the necessity of implementing union renewal. The research puts the focus on how coalitions might be one of the many key elements to this revitalization. It evaluates the influence of identity and organizational capacity on choosing whether to coalesce, while taking into account the specific union objectives and the national context in which it operates. The research has been conducted in a trade union organization based in the Philippines. The empirical data used in the research comes from 24 semi-structured interviews with representatives from one of the largest labor union in the country, representatives from non-union allies to this organization, and other actors not directly involved with the trade union organization under study. First, the results show that a strong societal, collective identity influences the choice of this union organization to join coalitions. Collective identity is also a fundamental element to better understand the orientation of the collective action displayed by this organization. Second, our results also suggest that a strong and visionary organizational capacity influences positively the choice of joining a coalition, since the union is reputed by then to be better-equipped to identify opportunities to act differently, to elaborate strategies of union renewal, and to ensure that these actions are properly understood and legitimized by the rank-and-file members. Our case study also demonstrates the importance of education for increasing organizational capacity, especially when it comes to collective identity formation and empowerment. Furthermore, our findings confirm the interaction between identity and organizational capacity: specifically, we observe a positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between the two variables. Third, our results reveal the interaction between the different levels of transformations resulting from the participation in coalitions. In fact, our case study shows that intraorganizational transformation leads to extraorganizational transformation and vice-versa. Lastly, our study shows that the combined effect of the repressive context of the Philippines and the specific objectives of the interviewed labor union seem to support its decision to coalesce at different (local, regional, national and international) levels.