Suchergebnisse

Downsizing and outsourcing have contributed to increased job insecurity and inequality across the industrialized west. Virginia Doellgast compares the US and European telecommunications industries to show how labour can succeed. Market liberalization and shareholder pressure pushed employers to adopt often draconian cost cutting measures, but in certain countries labour unions pushed back with creative collective bargaining and organising campaigns. Their success depended on the intersection of three factors: constraints on employer exit, support for collective worker voice, and strategies of inclusive labour solidarity. Based on findings from ten country studies, this book shows how different national political economic contexts shape what workers can and cannot accomplish.

This article compares the process and outcomes of collective negotiations over the outsourcing of call centre jobs in US and German telecommunications firms. In the USA, the Communication Workers of America relied on coalitions with politicians and other organizations to lead successful public campaigns; while in Germany, ver.di used coordinated bargaining with works councils to leverage their strong codetermination rights. Variation in access to resources between countries helps explain differences in the unions' ability to negotiate strong collective agreements on outsourcing and to influence restructuring decisions.