AICGS: ANALYSES : The New Dynamic of German-American Union Interaction in the Evolving Tran...

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ANALYSE

ABOUT
WHAT'S NEW The New Dynamic of German-American Union Interaction in the
SUPPORT Evolving Transatlantic Civil Society
EVENTS By Thomas Greven
ANALYSES
Publications
Commentaries Despite the widespread rhetoric of internationalism, international relations
AICGS Advisor between unions have often been characterized by competition and distrust, in
At Issue part based on the institutionalization of unions at the level of the nation-state.
AICGS Audio The globalization of the economy has exacerbated this situation, and unions
not only remain vested in the institutions of the nation-state, they are largely
Important Links
stuck in a conceptual prison defined by these institutions. In recent years,
MEDIA/PRESS however, the continued decline of unions has caused unions to initiate internal
FELLOWS
reforms. As part of these reform processes, a new dynamic of international
PROJECTS
FACET union relations can be observed.
PICTURES
Positioning Labor in the Globalization Debates
Subscribe to the Labor only features prominently in one of the three major political science
AICGS Advisor debates on globalization. And even in this political economy debate on the
changing international division of labor, what is mostly addressed is the decline
of organized labor as a consequence of the increased mobility of capital. In
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contrast, there has been considerable enthusiasm regarding the possibilities of
global governance and an evolving/emergent global civil society. NGOs in
particular are thought to be able to counter-balance the relative loss of
governing capabilities of nation-states (and unions).

The marginalization of labor and unions, however, is undeserved in theoretical

as well as empirical terms. Not only are unions part of the most established
example of "self-regulating mechanisms" (at the national level), moreover, as
democratically accountable workplace-related organizations they are the
representatives of those affected by economic globalization, and thus uniquely
legitimized to address the governance of the global economy. The fact that
unions pursue material interests cannot exclude them from the discussion of
the creation of public goods.

German-American Union Interaction

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In fact, the reason for the lack of discussion of unions in the globalization
debates has more to do with their apparent difficulties to effectively act on
behalf of working people. Unions have yet to overcome the myriad of obstacles
regarding effective cross-border cooperation, namely competition, differences
in organizational cultures and institutions, all exacerbated by language and
legal barriers. These obstacles are apparent in the example of German-
American post-WWII labor interaction.

Many activists in the U.S. labor movement were German immigrants and
helped to shape U.S. labor relations. Conversely, American union
representatives were instrumental in devising the German post-WW II
industrial relations system. International union cooperation, however, quickly
became the prerogative of labor union officials. International federations such
as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions were politically
preoccupied with anticommunism, and in economic terms, unions were almost
exclusively focused on the rebuilding of national markets and welfare states.

Embedded in national economic and social institutions, unions have been ill-
prepared to respond to the growing challenge of international business. When
German car exports to the U.S. seriously threatened their American
competition, the unions acquiesced because of the foreign policy
considerations involved in the unilateral opening of the U.S. market to cold war
allies. Later, the labor movement resorted to protectionism in the face of
Japanese competition -- a national rather than international policy solution.
German unions, on the other hand, established works councils and supervisory
boards in the many affiliates of U.S. companies in Germany, but never before
the takeover of Chrysler by Daimler did a German union offer a seat on the
board to an American unionist. In the context of sharply increased competition,
workforce and wage cuts, and growing capital mobility, union representatives
of globally active companies are under pressure to side with the company.
Competitiveness alliances with management trump international solidarity.

The New Dynamic of Labor Transnationalism

With few exceptions, labor movement cooperation at the level of international
federations has proved insufficient to generate viable policy innovations,
political consensus, or mobilization capacity regarding the challenge of
globalization. This includes, for the most part, the official Transatlantic Labor
Dialogue, which was started in 1995 as part of the so called New Transatlantic
Agenda of the U.S. and the EU.

Yet, at least two recent developments in transatlantic labor relations may allow
an escape from the conceptual prison of the nation-state. First, there is a
marked transnationalization of the U.S. labor movement strategy. In contrast to
the European unions' transnational activities, which take the form of
cooperative endeavors such as European and World Works Councils as well
as International Framework Agreements with corporations, U.S. unions engage
in leverage-seeking transnational campaigns. That is, strategic researchers
attempt to identify vulnerabilities in the many relationships a target company
has with its environment, and campaigners then exploit these with contentious
and escalating action. As is so often the case with "things American," these
strategic campaigns cause both irritation and fascination. The aggressive
nature of the campaigns, which include unions introducing proposals at target
company shareholder meetings, contrasts sharply with the more cooperative
practices of most European unions. At the same time, the effectiveness of the
campaigns impresses unionists who have been leading mostly defensive
battles.

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The second development in transatlantic labor relations has to do with this

fascination with strategic campaigns and other strategic innovations of U.S.
unions. Membership as well as political and bargaining power of unions in
Europe has been declining sharply and this decline has spurred considerable
reform efforts. As part of these efforts, there is increased interest in the
experience and innovative capacity of U.S. unions, which have had to deal with
decline for a long time. Cross-border learning has led to closer relationships
between unions, especially in the service sector, where direct competition is as
of yet uncommon.

Learning From the U.S.: Case Studies

At first, cross-border learning was the exclusive realm of individual "cultural
translators" such as Uli Wohland, who was hired by the union hbv to direct a
strategic campaign against the German drugstore chain Schlecker in the mid-
1990s, learning from community organizing strategies of Saul Alinsky and from
those U.S. union campaigners who were inspired by him. Today, the large
service sector union ver.di is conducting a large scale campaign against the
"small box" discounter Lidl. Once again, this campaign is in large part based
upon the individual effort of a staff member who - on her own initiative -
interned with several U.S. unions and then worked hard to introduce campaign
methodology in her union.

In ver.di's organizing project in the security industry in Hamburg, the interests

of German unions in learning from the U.S. and the U.S. unions' interest in
avoiding the irritation that was caused by the many "one-way-solidarity"
campaigns, coincide. For the first time, a German union explicitly trains
"organizers" who are supposed to actively increase and mobilize the
membership - something traditionally left to the works councils and the
socialization at the workplace - and the training is done by seasoned American
organizers, who are used to extremely difficult legal and political environments.

Conclusion: Unions in the Transatlantic Civil Society

Where the new dynamic of U.S.-German labor interaction will lead remains to
be seen. Most unions are not yet taking part in the ongoing cross-border
learning processes. However, the continuing decline will put reform pressure
on all unions and if the new dynamic produces success -- or at least appears
to stem the decline -- more unions will join the process. In the emerging
transatlantic civil society, unions are to be reckoned with.

Thomas Greven is Assistant Professor of political science at the John F.

Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin,
Germany, and is a former DAAD/AICGS Fellow. This paper is the result of his
fellowship stay at AICGS.

This essay appeared in the November 21, 2006, AICGS Advisor.

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