Global Unions? examines the role of unions in an increasingly global political economy. Labour issues have recently jumped on to the agenda of international relations and industrial relations and unions have been active in trying to influence policies of international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and trade agreements in the Americas. This volume first considers various theoretical approaches that can advance understanding global union issues, discusses national and macro regional labour responses to global challenges and examines the constraints on labour internationalism, union responses in the South, labour and the architecture of international economic institutions, the global labour standards debate and labour as a global social force. The book includes case studies on: * The geography of labour struggles in the United States. * Trade Union training on globalization in the UK and Brazil. * Transformation in US and Canadian union international policies. * Labour and regional integration in the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
This innovative collection of international relations and industrial relations experts conclude that the challenges and opportunities for unions operating in a global environment are immense. It will be of interest to trade unions, labour activists and labour research institutes as well as students and researchers in the fields of IPE, IR and Industrial Relations.