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This article examines the revitalization of a union federation's capacity to represent young workers. It presents a qualitative study of the role and impact of one of the most developed forms of youth involvement in a union, youth committees. It first analyzes the extent to which these committees helped put the concerns of members under the age of 30 on the union federation's agenda and fostered their participation in its internal life. Second, it examines the ways in which these committees initiated a degree of change in the federation at the institutional level. Overall, our findings indicate that youth committees were able to question existing practices and initiate a degree of union change. However, the disagreements expressed by the young workers tended to remain confined within these parallel structures, thus limiting their potential to change the representative capacity of the federation.
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Examines the participation of young workers in unions as well as their place in unions' committee structures. Considers the literature on integration of young workers into unions, the revitalization of unions through institutional change (three key criteria are delineated), and the results of a survey (interviews, focus groups) that was conducted by the authors. Concludes that youth should play a greater role than consultation and education — that they should have a voice rather than a presence in union councils — which in turn would encourage participation by other minority groups in union renewal.
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This article aims to explain whether and to what extent formal and informal labor education and training initiatives help increase union participation among young members. Between 2009 and 2014, twenty-two interviews were conducted with ten national union leaders and twelve young leaders in two trade union organizations operating in the public and private sectors in Quebec. To complement these data, fifty-three focus group discussions were held, involving more than four hundred thirty young members (under the age of thirty). Our results reveal the presence of three areas of tension associated with the internal functioning of these unions. They also point out some factors that may boost the participation of young workers, internally.
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This paper examines how two trade union organisations in Quebec (Canada) manage to integrate issues of concern to young members (30 years old and under) and spur changes in their agenda, structures and practices. Between 2009 and 2014, 25 interviews were conducted in these two organisations, while 41 focus group discussions were held with more than 430 members. We contend that improving young members' feeling of belonging to the union, enhancing internal network density and implementing more participatory forms of democracy are key elements when it comes to increasing their participation. Our findings reveal that unions must dare to integrate young members, without seeking to mould them to fit with the values and practices they deem to be outdated. It means not only training young members to carry the necessary message to their peers but also allowing them to challenge the strategic orientations suggested therein.
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Une des principales innovations syndicales en matière de régulation sociale des firmes transnationales réside dans l’émergence d’alliances syndicales internationales visant à fournir un espace de concertation et de développement de stratégies communes aux syndicats représentant les travailleurs d’une même firme. Sur la base de deux études de cas menées au sein de deux multinationales de différents secteurs et d’un corpus empirique incluant plus d’une centaine d’entretiens avec des syndicalistes de différents pays, cet article analyse la construction de l’action collective syndicale au sein de ces alliances. Partant de trois clés de lecture découlant d’autant de théories classiques de l’action collective – soit la théorie de la mobilisation des ressources, celle de la régulation sociale ainsi que celle dite de la structure d’opportunités politiques –, cet article met en relief certains facteurs déterminants du développement de cette action au sein des alliances syndicales internationales. Au-delà de l’importance pour les acteurs d’investir des ressources dans ces alliances, on observe que la formalisation organisationnelle de ces dernières, par l’intermédiaire de la définition de certaines règles d’organisation et la création de « centres » décisionnels, peut jouer un rôle déterminant dans leur propension à initier des actions collectives. Notre étude souligne également l’importance pour les acteurs syndicaux impliqués de définir un projet commun mobilisateur qui donne à la fois une cible et un sens aux actions planifiées. Au final, étant donné le bilan contrasté pouvant être tiré de ces deux cas, cet article met en lumière à la fois l’importante contribution potentielle de ces alliances au renouveau syndical mais aussi les nombreux obstacles qui se posent au développement de l’action syndicale internationale.
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- Journal Article (5)