Abstract
As if separated by a monolith, industrial relations scholars and social movement scholars have seldom engaged in discussion with one another. As industrial relations scholars focus their attention upon ‘traditional’ forms of collective action, as epitomised by the mobilisation of trade unions around economic issues, social movement scholars focus their attention upon ‘new’ forms of collective action, as epitomised by the coordination of protest movements around social and cultural issues. This paper argues that the theories produced by these different scholars can and should be profitably synthesised to better comprehend relations between trade unions during the Cold War. It presents as a case study the relationship between the National Union of Mineworkers of Britain and the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” of Poland during the Polish Crisis. It demonstrates that neither structural, ideological, nor discursive factors alone suffice to explain the nature of this relationship and advocates for these factors to be considered simultaneously.
Presenters
Grace SimpsonPhD Student, Doctoral School in the Humanities, Jagiellonian University, Malopolskie, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
TRADE UNIONS, LABOUR, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS THEORY, SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY, SOCIOLOGY
