The relevance of the exit option: the challenge for European trade unions of post-Fordism, internationalisation of the economy and financial market capitalism

Abstract

This paper examines the links between restructuring of production (post-Fordism), Europeanisation/globalisation of the economy and changes in the financial markets (financial market capitalism). It describes how, at European level, the greater scope for capital to relocate away from existing systems (labour markets, nation states), i.e. to make use of the ‘exit option’, dramatically shifts the balance of power between employees/trade unions and capital to the benefit of the latter. At the same time the paper also identifies the natural limits of the exit option that could offer trade unions scope for action.

On the road to transnational cooperation? Results from a survey of European trade unions

“…Second, firms’ concentration on short-term returns in the global economy undercuts stability, long-term growth and stable employment, all of which are advantageous for workers and trade unions. Finally, it is easier for employers to choose the exit option; they can more easily move to countries where wages are lower and other labour standards are less generous; this is described as ‘regime competition’, ‘regime shopping’ or ‘mobility differential’ (Hoffmann, 2006; Hübner, 1995; Streeck, 1992; Traxler and Woitech, 2000). As a consequence, trade unions risk being forced into ‘concession bargaining’ (Erne, 2008: 49–53).…”

Organization and organizing in revolutionary times: The case of Tunisian General Labor Union

“…Likewise, the decline of trade unions in the last century in the Global North led to the academic stream of trade union revitalization strategies, first in the Anglo-Saxon context (Bronfenbrenner et al, 1998; Fairbrother, 2000; Milkman and Voss, 2004) and then spread to other European countries (Dörre, 2011; Hoffmann, 2006). These studies aimed to demonstrate how oligarchy or its consequences could be avoided.…”

Relocation Threats and Actual Relocations in Canadian Manufacturing: The Role of Firm Capacity and Union Concessions

“…Relocation or delocalization, that is, the transfer of production activities of a given good or service to a new physical location, whether in the same region or country or abroad, became a viable option for many companies with the development of a series of factors that created a favorable context and whose effects are difficult to disentangle: the emergence of post-Fordist types of production models based on internal and external flexibility of production, the global liberalization of trade and capital movements, the high level of competition faced by firms for consumers and investors, competition between territories for foreign investment, low transportation costs, the advent of information and communication technologies able to facilitate the coordination of production between distant sites, access to huge pools of low-wage skilled labor in developing countries, and so forth (Berger, 2006;Gereffi, 2005;Hoffmann, 2006). This is not to say that the exit option is totally new for employers.…”

“…As pointed out by Hoffmann (2006), although not all firms can use the exit option or want to do so, "all of them can threaten to do so, and in such cases, it is extremely difficult for employees, . .…”