Pragmatism or politics: Leeds Jewish tailors and Leeds Jewish tailoring trade unions, 1876–1915

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Anne J. Kershen
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Comprehensive Account ◽  
New Immigrants ◽  
The Family

This chapter provides a detailed and comprehensive account of the workers and masters in the Leeds tailoring industry. Many of the new immigrants worked in sweatshops and in the outsourced workshops, which were in many ways an updated form of the domestic system in which all members of the family worked in the home. The workers soon found common cause and combined together to form the first and largest tailoring trade union. Their leader was the socialist Moses Sclare, who was a nationally important figure in the labour movement. Many of the Jewish masters exploited their fellow Jews but an exception was David Lubelski, who supported higher wages and shorter hours.

Globalisation and the dilemmas of international trade unionism

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Trade Union Movement ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Economic Developments

This article presents the author's reflections on the possibilities of a restructuring of the international trade union movement, on the basis of a collective research project to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) which seeks to open a debate within the movement over the lessons to be learned from its history as a guide for its future action. The most important question facing the trade union movement today is what is generally called 'globalisation', a phenomenon that goes back many years, both in terms of economic developments and labour struggles. From this perspective, the paper examines the basis for the existing divisions of the international labour movement, before going over the work of the ICFTU and of the International Trade Secretariats (ITSs) to achieve the regulation of the multinational corporations and of the international economy, and concluding on the prospects for unity of action in the unions' work around the global economy.

Women and the Labour Movement in France, 1869–1914

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. Hilden
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
European Trade

In histories of European trade union movements, the observation that women industrial workers were rarely found among the membership has become axiomatic. In virtually every developed nation, it seems that once the industrial order was established, predominantly male trade unions were everywhere the rule, and female unions and trade unionists everywhere notable exceptions.

scholarly journals The International Trade-Union Movement and the Founding of the International Labour Organization

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reiner Tosstorff
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
International Labour Organization ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Trade Union Movement ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
Union Movement

Accounts of the founding of the International Labour Organization (ILO) usually emphasize the role of social-reformist intellectuals and politicians. Despite the indisputable role of these actors, however, the international labour movement was the actual initiator of this process. Over the course of World War I, the international labour movement proposed a comprehensive programme of protection for the working classes, which, conceived as compensation for its support of the war, was supposed to become an international agreement after the war. In 1919, politicians took up this programme in order to give social stability to the postwar order. However, the way in which the programme was instituted disappointed the high expectations of trade unions regarding the fulfilment of their demands. Instead, politicians offered them an institution that could be used, at best, to realize trade-union demands. Despite open disappointment and sharp critique, however, the revived International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) very quickly adapted itself to this mechanism. The IFTU now increasingly oriented its international activities around the lobby work of the ILO.

The Revival of Labour Movement Studies in Argentina: Old and Lost Agendas

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 865-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Atzeni ◽  
Juan Grigera
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Community Based Organizations

In recent years sociological research on labour in Argentina has re-flourished. This revival has seen a turn towards the Anglo-Saxon and international traditions of workplace and trade union studies, but it has been generally one-sided, focusing on the relatively successful experiences of trade unions’ organized workers in formal sector workplaces. This has represented a considerable departure from the pre-2001 crisis research’s agenda that focused on unemployment, poverty and the new forms of community based organizations generated by workers in non-work situations. The return to the institutionalized sphere in the analysis of work issues can be partially explained by the changes in the economic and political environment alongside the return to ‘normality’ of the capital–labour relationship. However, it also signals a tendency in labour studies, in Argentina and beyond, of using the union form as the main organizational frame of reference in the analyses of conflict and workers’ representation.

The European Syndicalists and War, 1914–1918

2001 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
First World

This article argues that syndicalist trade union organizations, viewed internationally, were unique in First World War Europe in not supporting the war efforts or defensive efforts of their respective governments. The support for the war of the important French organisation has obscured the fact that the remaining five national syndicalist organisations – in belligerent Germany and Italy, and in neutral Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands – remained faithful to their professed workers' internationalism. The article argues that forces tending to integrate the labour movement in pre-1914 Europe had less effect on syndicalists than on other trade unions, and that syndicalist resistance to both integration and war in the non-Gallic countries was also influenced by their rivalry with social-democratic organisations.

scholarly journals Compulsory Unionism: A Strength or Weakness? The New Zealand System Compared with Union Security Agreements in Great Britain and in the United States

1969 ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Szakats
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Union Security ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Monopoly Position

In the following article Doctor Szakats evaluates the workers' position with regard to the necessity of membership in union as an indispensable prerequisite for obtaining and retaining work. In particular, he analyzes current employer-union practices and legislation in New Zealand, Great Britain and the United States. The author points out that in New Zealand the relevant statutes apply only to registered workers' associations. However, registered union has the advantages of: monopoly position; blanket clauses; and unqualified preference clauses. The author concludes that the so-called abolition of compulsory unionism in New Zealand does not change the position of workers seeking employment since by virtue of the unqualified preference clauses in nearly all awards and industrial agreements, compulsory unionism has de facto remained in force. In Great Britain, as in New Zealand, relevant statutes apply only to registered associations. Although it has been recognized in Great Britain since 1871 that trade unions are voluntary associations, the theory does not always conform with the practice. As result, certain arrangements can inhibit worker's choice of specified trade union and closed shop agreements may lawfully counteract this right of not joining, thereby introducing de facto compulsory unionism. By way of contrast to Great Britain and New Zealand, relevant legislation in the United States extends to and binds all trade unions. The author concludes that although com pulsory unionism imposed by the state generally weakens the labour movement, compulsory unionism imposed by employer-union agreement strengthens the movement.

scholarly journals IMPACTS OF GLOBALISATION ON GLOBAL LABOUR MOVEMENT: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 294-302
Author(s):  
Ibukun Olorunisola KOLAWOLE
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Author Review ◽  
Traditional Roles

Across the globe labour formations have generally been experiencing insurmountable challenges related to globalisation these challenges, though differs in the levels of impact, the issues raised are universally applicable. Studies show that trade unions are trying to combat these challenges by adopting organising model elements which involves social unionism movement. Unfortunately, this has not been adopted by all unions. This paper has as its main objective of situating the trade unions within the context of globalisation era with a view to assessing the effects of globalisation on the roles of labour movement. It is believed more than ever before, that the challenges facing the labour unions are daunting and this has changed the traditional roles of the trade union to be more dynamic and versatile. Attempts are made to define trade union and globalisation in its multi-faceted dimension. It looks at these challenges faced by trade unions due to globalisation and how they have responded to these challenges. The author review various areas that globalisation have been perceives to have adverse effects on trade unions and its members and their responses, recommending measures to be adopted by unions to overcome these challenges

A Proletarian Turf War: The Rise and Fall of Barcelona's Sindicatos Libres, 1919–1923

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Arturo Zoffmann Rodriguez ◽  
Juan Cristóbal Marinello Bonnefoy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Social Revolution ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Class Groups ◽  
State Repression ◽  
Labour Movement

Abstract From 1919 to 1923, Barcelona experienced unprecedented levels of social conflict. The growth of the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labour (CNT) had awakened the spectre of social revolution among the city's conservative classes, and a broad constellation of reactionary forces lined up against it, the Sindicatos Libres (free trade unions) being the most formidable among them. Created in 1919 by Catholic workers, the Sindicatos Libres were able to capitalize on the exhaustion that had set in among certain working-class groups who had grown wary of reckless strike action. Using violence to fight back against the CNT, the Libres could claim 175,000 members by mid-1922. They mobilized the religious, corporatist, and regionalist sentiments harboured by sectors of the city's workforce and, by adopting a modern repertoire of action, they bypassed the traditional aversion to mass mobilization that had characterized the Catholic labour movement and Spanish conservative parties until then. In many ways, the ideology and tactics of the Libres adumbrated fascism, but their success was short-lived. In late 1922, an upswing in strike action and an abatement of state repression allowed the CNT to recover at the expense of the Libres. This article explores the rise and fall of an organization the study of which has been neglected, situating it in a European context of political polarization whereby the traditional right attempted to modernize its tactics and adapt them to a rising challenge from the revolutionary left. It will also serve as a window through which to examine the complex relationship between workers’ trade union affiliations and their political and cultural identity.

scholarly journals Unemployment Insurance in Interwar Belgium

1990 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Vanthemsche
Keyword(s):  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Wage Formation ◽  
The Government

SUMMARYIn 1900, a special type of unemployment insurance was set up in Belgium: the so-called “Ghent system”, which had some influence on the development of unemployment insurance in many European countries. This particular system was characterized by the important role played by the trade-union unemployment societies. The public authorities (in Belgium, from 1920 onwards, the central government next to the towns and provinces) encouraged the affiliation of the labourers to these societies by granting different sorts of financial support to the unemployed society members and to the societies themselves. During the crisis of the 1930s, this led to an important growth of Belgian trade-union membership. On the other hand, the quantitative growth of the labour movement due to this particular organization of unemployment insurance, led to many negative sideeffects for the trade unions (administrative chaos, financial problems, loss of combativity). Moreover, the employers' organizations strongly opposed this system of unemployment insurance, because they thought it reinforced the labour movement's power in society (strengthening of union membership, influence on wage formation, obstruction of deflation policy). This article examines the heated debates waged in the labour movement itself and between this actor, the employers' organizations and the government, to solve the many important problems posed by this type of social insurance. The Belgian pre-Second World War debate concerning unemployment insurance was of great importance for the shaping of the Welfare State in Belgium, which took its present-day form in 1944.

scholarly journals The International Labour Movement and the Limits of Internationalism: the International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres, 1901–1913

1988 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Milner
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
International Federation ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Post War ◽  
National Trade ◽  
Second International

SummaryDespite an abundance of literature on the Second International relatively little is known about the work of the International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres (ISNTUC). Foundect in 1901 by the German and Scandinavian labour leaders, this exclusively trade union International (the forerunner of the post-war International Federation of Trade Unions) included representatives of most of the major labour movements of Europe and the USA. Under German leadership it occupied itself with exclusively trade union issues, a limitation which was contested by revolutionary labour federations. Study of the ISNTUC therefore reveals much about conceptions of internationalism within the internationally organized labour movement.

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