Factory Unions Facing Asset- Strippers in Post-Communist Romania and Ukraine: An Overview of Strategies

Abstract

"The paper supplements the literature on post-communist organized labor with a systematic comparison of union strategies towards employers at the plant level, in the metal sector throughout the 2000s (in Romania and Ukraine). It shows how unions can bring employers to the negotiation table, and highlights strategic elements that allow unions to act in support of their members even when facing the biggest difficulties, brought by collapsing economic sectors and dwindling employer interest in production. The paper’s novel contribution lies in uncovering how trade unions cast their strategies in terms of constituting disruption to force their opponents to accept at least parts of their demands." [author's abstract]