From Global Consumer Power to Local Worker Power

In June 2011, a proud email circulates around the world. It reports that Indonesian trade unions have signed a contract regarding Freedom of Association, with both a number of retail chains selling sporting goods, apparel, and footwear—such as Nike, Adidas, and so on—and the largest Indonesian producers of garments and footwear. The signing of the contract was preceded by two years of negotiations leading to the local unions succeeding in establishing the contract. Seen from the outside, it was surprising that the Indonesian trade unions, fragmented and with limited resources, and which normally would find it difficult to initiate collective bargaining with the Indonesian factory executives, had now succeeded in negotiating a contract with both these factory executives and a number of large, multinational corporations. This chapter analyzes this development, showing how the ability to leverage trust as a political tool to span organizational, institutional, and geographic boundaries was central for ensuring local trade unions’ place at the negotiating table and the signing of a contract.