Représentation du travail et représentativité syndicale aux marges du salariat : le cas de la distribution directe

Is the reform of union representativeness a solution to the problem of union institutionalization? The article addresses that question, raised by the reform as well as by labour specialists. Through the study of the newly built branch of leaflet distribution, it is shown that the reform cannot solve a problem which is incorrectly set. Union institutionalization is, indeed, a contradictory process, which separates as much as it links together workers and their representatives. This precision leads us to study the impact of the reform of union representativeness in a more nuanced way. The mobilization of the rules of representativeness in the two firms under study shows that the reform has ambivalent effects in terms of unionization. The new regime of representativeness doesn?t guarantee a control of workers over their representatives any tighter. However, it reinforces the interplay between the branch and firms respective arenas, which are now connected through the electoral process.