Friday, March 26th 2-4pm
Jason Stanley - Comrades or Competitors?:
On the Prospects of Cross-Border Unionism
in Local and Global Markets
In 2008, workers in North America and the United Kingdom reached across a chasm of several thousand miles to form the world’s first transatlantic trade union. And not without good reason: globalization is engulfing workers and unions. As global trade heats up, workers around the world come increasingly into competition with one another. Historically, on the national level, workers formed unions to overcome such competition. This same logic has compelled many labor activists to call for an internationalization of labor struggles. Yet, despite this apparent consensus, some of the few examples of cross-border unions have collapsed in recent decades. Why? If unions need to internationalize, why have some internationalized unions moved in the opposite direction? Research on cross-border unionism points to the importance of organizational culture, ideological harmony, social networks, shared identities, and common ‘political opportunity structures’ in sustaining solidarity, yet a comparative perspective suggests these approaches fall short. Drawing on a comparison between two Canada-US unions between 1965 and 2000, I argue that cross-border unions are more likely to experience tension and conflict where members work in markets that are globally integrated, not locally or nationally distinct. Workers in globally integrated markets find it harder to sustain cross-border solidarity for three reasons: 1) inequality among workers in global markets is greater than in local or national markets, making the harmonization of interests and action more difficult; 2) workers are prevented from moving across borders to pursue job opportunities, making them more vulnerable to job loss and therefore more likely to support protectionist policies that harm foreign comrades; and 3) exchange rate fluctuations introduce burdensome turbulence by altering relative labor costs across countries, thereby triggering between-country job redistribution and the protectionist battles that ensue.