NAFTA and the Politics of Labor Transnationalism

Kay, Tamara

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778858

Cited by 106 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…However, a pre-condition for labor transnationalism may well be a modicum of initial organizational and financial resources. Also, the presence of progressive, left-leaning trade unions increases the likelihood that transnational collaboration will form (Anner 2011;Kay 2011).…”

Section: The Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: The role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor

2018

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This paper investigates variation in the design of labor provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) by focusing on the power of trade unions, the role of government partisanship, and the relative strength of skilled labor. We expect strong trade unions and leftleaning governments to be associated with more, and more far-reaching labor provisions in PTAs. We also expect the strength of skilled workers relative to the strength of unskilled workers to negatively correlate with the depth of labor provisions in PTAs. In addition, the effect of trade unions should be conditional on both the presence of left government and democracy. We test these hypotheses relying on an original dataset of labor provisions included in 483 PTAs signed between 1990 and 2016. This dataset covers 140 different labor provisions that relate to six overarching dimensions. The quantitative analysis finds Rev Int Organ (2018) 13:143-162 https://doi

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Section: The Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: The role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor

2018

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“…Mercosur is an example closer to this first option as it deals with matters of trade using an intergovernmental arrangement and not through supranational institutions. There has been rich literature that studies interest groups within NAFTA, and the majority have concentrated on the power and influence of business in the legislative side (Chase 2003) and labor (Kay 2011(Kay , 2015.…”

Section: Lietrature Review: Trade Policy Making and Economic Sectors mentioning

confidence: 99%

Business Lobbying: Mapping Policy Networks in Brazil in Mercosur

Benítez

2018

Social Sciences

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In the creation of trade policy, business actors have the most influence in setting policy. This article identifies and explains variations in how economic interest groups use policy networks to affect trade policymaking. This article uses formal social network analysis (SNA) to explore the patterns of articulation or a policy network between the government and business at the national level within regional trade agreements. The empirical discussion herein focuses on Brazil and the setting of exceptions list to Mercosur’s common external tariff. It specifically concentrates on the relations between the Brazilian executive branch and ten economic subsectors. The article finds that the patterns of articulation of these policy networks matter and that sectors with stronger ties to key government decision-makers have a structural advantage in influencing trade policy and obtaining and/or maintaining their desired, privileged trade policies, compared with sectors that are connected to government actors with weak decision-making power, but might have numerous and diversified connections. Therefore, sectors that have a strong pluralist–clientelist policy structure with connections to government actors with decision-making power have greater potential for achieving their target policies compared with more corporatist policy networks.

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“…For instance, Kay (2011) demonstrated the paradoxical rise of labour transnationalism as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which created a "transnational political opportunity structure" that facilitated more substantive US-Mexican labour collaboration than the close ties of each country's formal union movements ever had. Kay's findings were so interesting because they added an important twist to the received wisdom about the impact of free trade agreements on organised labour.…”

Section: Edited Volume Global Unions? Theory and Strategies Of Organmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Global Labour Studies: A Critical Review

Brookes

McCallum

2017

GLJ

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The past two decades have seen a dramatic upsurge in sustained, cross-border labour activism, or labour transnationalism. Scattered across multiple disciplines and subfields, a new field of inquirythe new global labour studies (NGLS) -has emerged as scholars seek to comprehend the causes and consequences of twenty-first-century labour transnationalism. This multi-disciplinary approach has provided a platform from which to analyse an emerging phenomenon. We assess relevant strands of this emerging field that focus on: a) new theories of labour power and corporate vulnerability, and b) worker agency and organising strategy. While these areas have produced robust findings, we argue that developing a more complete understanding of labour transnationalism and its outcomes will require scholars to produce a more explicit critique of mainstream political economy, sociology, political science and labour studies. KEY WORDSLabour; labour movements; globalisation; transnationalism; labour transnationalism; unions The New Global Labour Studies: A Critical ReviewThe past two decades have seen a dramatic upsurge in sustained, cross-border labour activism, or labour transnationalism. Spanning North-South divides, industrial and service economies, and racial and gender lines, workers and their organisations have attempted, sometimes successfully, to meet capital at its own scale. To date over 115 global framework agreements (GFAs) have been signed by transnational corporations (TNCs) and the recently re-branded Global Unions. The latter expanded significantly in the early 2000s following their transformation from the old International Trade Secretariats into Global Union Federations. Workers and unions from different countries are also increasingly involved in less formal modes of transnational collaboration, ranging from basic alliancebuilding efforts to more elaborate, employer-targeted campaigns.Through these actions transnational activists have collectively built the inchoate foundation of a new kind of labour movement. Scholars argue that, in contrast to the past, the new spirit of labour transnationalism strives for greater democracy, diversity and inclusivity, and tries to emphasise direct, concrete solidarity actions informed by strategic research and decentralised information networks.

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NAFTA and the Politics of Labor Transnationalism

Cited by 106 publications

References 54 publications

Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: The role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor

Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: The role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor

Business Lobbying: Mapping Policy Networks in Brazil in Mercosur

The New Global Labour Studies: A Critical Review

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