Unions and Economic Restructuring: Introduction

The extent and the scope of organizational and technological innovations currently being introduced by many firms present important challenges of adjustment for the union movement. While working to renew their own collective strength, unions must also define their position with regard to new forms of work organization. Current mutations in identities both at work and beyond raise pressing questions about the relationship between the union and its members, particularly the capacity of unions to represent increasingly diverse groups of workers. The question of the link between identity at work and social cohesion will probably be exacerbated in the coming years because the current changes in the organization of work and the management of production are likely to have increasingly significant repercussions on the post-war institutional compromise in the workplace.