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Dilemmas for contemporary trade unionism: lessons from the European steel industry

Trade unions seek to tackle developments in the economic and social context of employment, 
as well as addressing changing membership priorities. Recent debate about union 
organisation and operation, particularly at a local level, has centred on an examination of 
the ways in which unions have been challenged by developments in the composition of 
managerial hierarchies and approaches, work and employment conditions, and legislative 
requirements; features and outcomes of the constant restructuring and transformation of 
capitalism. One somewhat understated dimension is the way unions in different national 
contexts may begin to address the implications of cross-border corporate restructuring. To 
focus such an enquiry, the paper examines dimensions of the European steel industry. The 
argument is that in the context of on-going sectoral restructuring, unions face the challenge 
of addressing the tension between nationally-focused policy and the forms of corporate 
development. The contention is that in this sector trade unions have maintained an approach 
to interest representation that centres on the state and/or supra state, rather than the 
emerging corporate form in the sector. I go on to suggest that one initial issue for these trade 
unions is the articulation of alternative perspectives. The paper employs data from a 
programme of research conducted across the European steel industry that started in 2000, 
and is on-going. Thus, the paper focuses on union responses to the challenges presented by 
the internationalisation of the European steel industry.