Worker agency and trade union renewal: the case of Poland

Abstract

A B S T R AC TContrary to predictions of continued weakness of the union movement in post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in recent years Polish trade unions have undertaken various revitalisation attempts, including campaigns to organise unions in the private sector. Although the existing literature accounts for this internal union transformation by referring to macrosocial and institutional factors, this article suggests that the emerging potential of union renewal is linked with the new forms of union activism and worker agency. This assertion is based on an exploratory empirical study using 45 biographical narrative interviews with company-level union representatives in Poland. The analysis reveals the existence of 'transitional' and 'reinvented' patterns of union activism. The article concludes that new unionism in Poland does not resemble an economic unionism or broad social movement unionism as suggested by other authors. On the contrary, it follows a path that combines the reinvented union ethos with market-oriented strategies. K E Y WO R D SPoland / trade unions / union activism / union renewal / worker agency 221

Institutions and Strategies: Trends and Obstacles to Recruiting Workers into Trade Unions in Poland

“…The emergence of privatized life strategies on the side of workers is also considered to be an important factor (Czarzasty ; Mrozowicki et al . ).…”

“…2008) and newcomers to trade unions (Mrozowicki et al . ) began to confront the established union structures with the need for internal reforms.…”

“…They also suggest that workers' attitudes towards unions are not simply a product of the communist legacy but also derive from modern HRM policies implemented by multinational companies, which discourage workers from joining unions (Tuszyń ska 2003). The emergence of privatized life strategies on the side of workers is also considered to be an important factor (Czarzasty 2010;Mrozowicki et al 2010).…”

“…Thus, the role of worker agency and the strategic choices of trade union local leaders cannot be underestimated in explaining trade union decline and growth. In the Polish context, it has been argued that the new generation of union activists (Krzywdzinski 2010), women unionists (Hardy et al 2008) and newcomers to trade unions (Mrozowicki et al 2010) began to confront the established union structures with the need for internal reforms.…”

Coaches as sport workers: professional agency within the employment context of elite European basketball

“…Congruent with our interdisciplinary intentions to build on academic considerations of sport workers, the theoretical cues that frame this work are predominantly taken from scholarship on professionals within educational settings. Research has positioned workers' agency and actions in this context as strategic and revealed that workers make conscious choices regarding how to act and when they want to act (Mrozowicki, Pulignano & Van Hootegem, 2010;Vähäsantanen, 2015;. Here professional agency can be understood as the individual's opportunities to influence his or her own work (Ketelaar, Beijaard & Den Brok, 2012;Priestley et al, 2012).…”