Can Cross-Border Bargaining Coordination Work? Analytical Reflections and Evidence from the Metal Industry in Germany and Austria

“Membership”, Dependencies And Free Riding In Networks – A Case Study Of The European Metal Sector

“…This leads to the question pattern-takers. As a general rule, for pattern bargaining to be effective a critical mass of pattern-taking units is required for macrolevel coordination to succeed (Traxler et al 2008). In Europe Germany is quite natural pattern-setter, because of its size and strong trade unions.…”

Trade Union Channels for Influencing European Union Policies

“…Transnationally, the position of trade unions is also relatively strong, since European trade unions have institutionalized arenas in which to influence European Union (EU) policies (Bieler & Schulten, 2008;Clauwaert, 2011;Welz, 2008). European trade union cooperation is well developed and includes both sector and cross-sector activities such as exchanging information and collaborating on training programs, producing statements and mobilizing demonstrations, coordinating collective bargaining, and participating in a social dialogue with European employer organizations through the sectoral European Trade Union Federations (ETUFs) 1 and the cross-sectoral European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) (Glassner & Pochet, 2011;Traxler et al, 2008).…”

Cross-border cooperation under asymmetry: The case of an Interregional Trade Union Council

“…When it comes to unilateral trade union cooperation, the main emphasis is on bargaining coordination at sectoral level (Gollbach and Schulten, 2000;Traxler et al, 2008). However, parallel to these processes, we can observe the emergence of a large number of Interregional Trade Union Councils (IRTUCs) over the last three decades.…”

“…Marginson and Traxler (2005) argue that a strong trade union presence in lead firms could help in establishing a 'going rate' and thereby provide a substitute for sectoral collective bargaining, leading to a differentiated (according to the circumstances of the sector) and dual strategy (linking multi-employer with single-employer bargaining). Traxler et al (2008) have recently underlined the logical potential of pattern bargaining as well as its likely empirical use as a latent form of coordination.…”

“…Through such initiatives the IRTUC has helped to build organizational capacity ---articulate different union levels across the border and train/socialize a new generation of trade unionists ---in a very difficult phase of transition. The bottom-up focus on labour market control in these forms of cross-border cooperation can assist trade union revival in Eastern Europe (Ost, 2009); it might also gain in importance in the context of the decentralization of bargaining (Traxler et al, 2008: 234) and competitive regional development. However, the quality of cooperation is crucial here, as is the articulation of workplace, industry and national strategies.…”