Global union federations on affiliates’ websites: Forces shaping unions’ global organisational identity

Abstract

Affiliates’ sense of oneness in a Global Union Federation (GUF) is pivotal for that GUF to be able to counter the forces of globalisation. We argue that GUF saliency in affiliates’ identity is the microfoundation of this sense of oneness. We examine this facet of identity by analysing the contents of the websites of 2314 affiliates of four major GUFs. Our three‐step study explores the extent to which and why GUFs’ saliency varies across affiliates. First, we compute a GUF saliency index score for each affiliate based on its website contents. Second, we examine the impact of macro‐institutional characteristics (national employment relations and socioeconomic characteristics) on the GUF saliency score. Finally, focusing on one GUF, Public Service International and drawing on 19 semi‐structured interviews in 16 countries across six world regions, we highlight appeal and relationships, and especially their joint effect, as fundamental forces to explain the variations between affiliates. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for GUF debate and policies.

Conditions for cross-professional union coalition-building: When enough is enough, but solidarity also has its limits!

“…The case further confirms the importance of unions’ communicative power in maximizing bargaining power (Doellgast et al, 2020; Frangi and Zhang, 2022): in our case, unionists constructed frames of solidarity not only between unions and citizens (Coderre-Lapalme et al, 2023) but also between the different unions, showing that public interest frames can be a viable vehicle for both inter-union brokerage and public mobilization (Krachler et al, 2021; Szabó, 2022). Regarding the deployment of communicative resources, the 2018 mobilization was unprecedented in the Danish union context, helping overcome cleavages – including those based on different levels of professionalization – within the union landscape (Behrens and Pekarek, 2021; Ebbinghaus and Visser, 2000).…”

“…Certain conditions focus less on contextual than agential factors, and these are related to unions' identities and inter-union relationships (Frangi and Zhang, 2022). Identity factors refer to the different leadership and ideological orientations of unions.…”

The Transnational Labor Alliances Database Project: Methods, Problems, and Progress

“…Examples of recent NGLS scholarship include Webster and O'Brien (2020), Sarkar and Kuruvilla (2020), Frangi and Zhang (2021) and Lohmeyer and Schüßler (2018). 3…”

Understanding global union repertoires of action

“…A key influence in this respect is the constraints imposed on them by their interdependence with their affiliates. Because of their scalar positioning, the GUFs must develop a strong relationship with affiliates if their actions are to extend beyond mere labour diplomacy (Frangi & Zhang, 2022). As such, a determining factor in the GUFs' success or failure is their ability to mobilize affiliates, especially in the Global South.…”