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Organizing through conflict: exploring the relationship between strikes and union membership in Germany

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  • Heiner Dribbusch

    (Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf, Germany)

Abstract

This article explores the possible link between trade union organizing and industrial action. The focus is on Germany and the period between 2004 and 2015. During that period there was a significant shift in German strike activity from manufacturing to the service sector. Special attention will therefore be given to the United Services Union, ver.di, the second largest union in Germany. The article argues that major preconditions for organizing crystallize during industrial disputes. Strikes constitute decisive moments in which the diverging interests of employers and employees are directly experienced, and in which unions are called on to demonstrate their effectiveness as collective organizations. There is evidence that ‘organizing through conflict’ has the potential to support union building and that within such an approach industrial action can work as a catalyst. The conclusion is that successful strikes offer opportunities within a comprehensive organizing strategy without however being the magic bullet with which unions can easily close the representation gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Heiner Dribbusch, 2016. "Organizing through conflict: exploring the relationship between strikes and union membership in Germany," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 22(3), pages 347-365, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:22:y:2016:i:3:p:347-365
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258916650423
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bewernitz, Torsten & Dribbusch, Heiner, 2014. "„Kein Tag ohne Streik“: Arbeitskampfentwicklung im Dienstleistungssektor," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 67(5), pages 393-401.
    2. Lorenzo Bordogna & Gian Primo Cella, 2002. "Decline or transformation? Change in industrial conflict and its challenges," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 8(4), pages 585-607, November.
    3. Ganz, Marshall Louis, 2000. "Resources and Resourcefulness: Strategic Capacity in the Unionization of California Agriculture, 1959-1966," Scholarly Articles 12641805, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Towers, Brian, 1997. "The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289463.
    5. Chris Howell, 2008. "Book Review: Labor-Management Relations: Reigniting the Labor Movement: Restoring Means to Ends in a Democratic Labor Movement," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(1), pages 133-135, October.
    6. Peter Boxall & Peter Haynes, 1997. "Strategy and Trade Union Effectiveness in a Neo-liberal Environment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 567-591, December.
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