Wednesday, July 02, 2008
[IWS] ILR Press: New! EUROPEAN UNIONS: LABOR'S QUEST FOR A TRANSNATIONAL DEMOCRACY [July 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
ILR Press (an imprint of Cornell University Press)
EUROPEAN UNIONS: Labor's Quest for a Transnational Democracy
Roland Erne
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4812
$29.95s cloth
2008, 280 pages, 6 x 9, 9 charts
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4648-1
Roland Erne's view of transnational trade union networks challenges the assertion that no realistic prospect exists for remedying the European Union's democratic deficitthat is, its domination by corporate interests and lack of a cohesive European people. His book describes the emergence of a European trade union movement that crosses national boundaries. Erne assesses national and EU-level trade union politics in two core areas: wage bargaining in the European Monetary Union and job protection during transnational corporate mergers and restructuring. The wage coordination policies of the European metal and construction workers' unions and the unions' responses in the ABB-Alstom Power and Alcan-Pechiney-Algroup merger cases, Erne finds, show that the activities of labor are not confined to the national level: labor's policies have undergone Europeanization. This cross-national borrowing of tactics is itself proof of the increasing integration of European states and societies.
European Unions is based on an exceptionally wide range of research methods, including statistical analysis, participant observation, and interviews with EU-level, national, and local trade unionists and works councilors. It also draws on a wide range of European, German, French, Italian, and Swiss union documents and a multilingual body of academic literature across several disciplines, including political science, sociology, and law. Erne's multilevel inquiry goes beyond country-by-country comparisons of national cases and his book will prove of great relevance to readers interested in the future of labor, social justice, and democracy in an increasingly integrated world.
Reviews
"European Unions is rigorous and original. In this excellent book, Roland Erne organizes his analysis around an illuminating range of strategies and draws on a wide array of sources. Erne is exceptionally well informed about labor and industrial relations, and his book is unusually broad in scope, covering the politics of the European Union, the political economy of wage bargaining, and the role of unions in EU competition and merger policy."John Kelly, University of London
"In European Unions, Roland Erne offers an original and compelling view of how trade unions can contribute to remedying the European Union's 'democratic deficit.' He argues that unions can do so if they mobilize collective action in EU decision-making processes as opposed to alternative 'technocratic' or 're-nationalizing' strategies. Theoretically and through case studies, he analyzes the conditions under which unions are likely to adopt strategies that have democratizing effects on EU governance."Andrew Martin, The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
About the Author
Roland Erne is Lecturer of International and Comparative Employment Relations at University College Dublin.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
ILR Press (an imprint of Cornell University Press)
EUROPEAN UNIONS: Labor's Quest for a Transnational Democracy
Roland Erne
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4812
$29.95s cloth
2008, 280 pages, 6 x 9, 9 charts
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4648-1
Roland Erne's view of transnational trade union networks challenges the assertion that no realistic prospect exists for remedying the European Union's democratic deficitthat is, its domination by corporate interests and lack of a cohesive European people. His book describes the emergence of a European trade union movement that crosses national boundaries. Erne assesses national and EU-level trade union politics in two core areas: wage bargaining in the European Monetary Union and job protection during transnational corporate mergers and restructuring. The wage coordination policies of the European metal and construction workers' unions and the unions' responses in the ABB-Alstom Power and Alcan-Pechiney-Algroup merger cases, Erne finds, show that the activities of labor are not confined to the national level: labor's policies have undergone Europeanization. This cross-national borrowing of tactics is itself proof of the increasing integration of European states and societies.
European Unions is based on an exceptionally wide range of research methods, including statistical analysis, participant observation, and interviews with EU-level, national, and local trade unionists and works councilors. It also draws on a wide range of European, German, French, Italian, and Swiss union documents and a multilingual body of academic literature across several disciplines, including political science, sociology, and law. Erne's multilevel inquiry goes beyond country-by-country comparisons of national cases and his book will prove of great relevance to readers interested in the future of labor, social justice, and democracy in an increasingly integrated world.
Reviews
"European Unions is rigorous and original. In this excellent book, Roland Erne organizes his analysis around an illuminating range of strategies and draws on a wide array of sources. Erne is exceptionally well informed about labor and industrial relations, and his book is unusually broad in scope, covering the politics of the European Union, the political economy of wage bargaining, and the role of unions in EU competition and merger policy."John Kelly, University of London
"In European Unions, Roland Erne offers an original and compelling view of how trade unions can contribute to remedying the European Union's 'democratic deficit.' He argues that unions can do so if they mobilize collective action in EU decision-making processes as opposed to alternative 'technocratic' or 're-nationalizing' strategies. Theoretically and through case studies, he analyzes the conditions under which unions are likely to adopt strategies that have democratizing effects on EU governance."Andrew Martin, The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
About the Author
Roland Erne is Lecturer of International and Comparative Employment Relations at University College Dublin.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 11:04 AM
