The Industrial Workers of the World is a union unlike any other. Founded in 1905 in Chicago, it rapidly gained members across the world thanks to its revolutionary, internationalist outlook. By using powerful organising methods including direct-action and direct-democracy, it put power in the hands of workers. This philosophy is labeled as 'revolutionary industrial unionism' and the members called, affectionately, 'Wobblies'. This book is the first to look at the history of the IWW from an international perspective. Bringing together a group of leading scholars, it includes lively accounts from a number diverse countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden and Ireland, which reveal a fascinating story of global anarchism, syndicalism and socialism. Drawing on many important figures of the movements such as Tom Barker, Har Dayal, Joe Hill, James Larkin and William D. "Big Bill" Haywood, and exploring particular industries including shipping, mining, and agriculture, this book describes how the IWW and its ideals travelled around the world.

For three decades F.M. Scherer has been writing on questions of competition policy from multiple perspectives as a professional economist, consultant in numerous antitrust and international trade proceedings, and (for two years) chief economist of the US Federal Trade Commission. This volume collects 26 of his most important papers, both previously published and unpublished, on a broad array of competition policy issues. The papers address the historical antecedents and rationale of competition policy, the logic of market definition, the implications of pricing strategies pursued by enterprises with monopoly power, tradeoffs between competition goals and the attainment of static and dynamic efficiency, implementing effective remedies in merger and monopoly cases and the role of competition policy in an increasingly open world economy.

In recent years, and to varying degrees, there has been a marked trend towards decentralisation of labour market regulation in many European countries. The authors of this book seek to assess the impact of social partnership and social protection on the macroeconomic performance of nine member states of the European Union - namely Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. They compare the performance outcomes of these countries with the USA over the last twenty years and find that, in broad terms, the countries that perform 'best' are those that have adapted and decentralised their systems of social partnership and protection. The authors also analyse the changing nature of social partnership and protection within the European Union (EU). They examine recent developments in EU social policy, particularly its shift towards employment promotion through the national action plans on employment that each member state is now required to introduce. These reinforce social partnership but also impose new challenges for governments, employers and unions to meet. Central amongst these challenges is the need to ensure that social partnership is as inclusive as possible. The authors conclude that the EU requires more social partnership if ever closer union, including monetary union, is to succeed and that employment promotion programmes must be pursued by the EU as a whole.

International debate has recently focused on increased inequalities and the adverse effects that they may have on both social and economic developments. Income inequality, which is at its highest level for the past half-century, may not only undermine the sustainability of European social policy but also put at risk Europe?s sustainable recovery. A common feature of recent reports on inequality (ILO, OECD, IMF, 2015?2017) is their recognition that the causes emerge from mechanisms in the world of work. The purpose of this book is to investigate the possible role of industrial relations, and social policies more generally, in reducing these inequalities. The volume pays particular attention to the contribution of social partners and social dialogue to achieving concrete outcomes, notably in terms of flexibility and security for both employers and workers. The key aim is to identify elements of a response to a number of important questions: which countries have succeeded in carrying out the necessary reforms without generating further inequalities? What industrial relations systems seem to perform better in this respect? What policy measures, institutions and actors play a determinant role in achieving more balanced outcomes? How can social dialogue address future transformations of the world of work, while limiting inequalities? The scope of this volume goes beyond pay to address other types of inequality ? in the distribution of working time, access or re-access to jobs, training and career opportunities, and social protection and pensions. It also looks at inequalities that may affect particular groups of workers, including women or young people, as well as people in certain types of work arrangements, such as part-time or temporary work or the self-employed. This book is vital reading for anyone concerned with labour policy, industrial relations and social welfare but, above all, with how advances in these areas can contribute to the global fight against growing inequalities. Contributors include: D. Anxo, B. Bembic, G. Bosch, P. Courtioux, C. Erhel, K. Espenberg, G. Fiorani, G. Giakoumatos, D. Grimshaw, M. Johnson, M. Karamessini, I. Marx, J. Masso, I. Mierina, R. Munoz de Bustillo, B. Nolan, F. Pinto Hernandez, W. Salverda, A. Simonazzi, M. Tverdostup, L. Van Cant, D. Vaughan-Whitehead, R. Vazquez-Alvarez

The presence of transaction costs greatly modifies the traditional picture of the allocation of resources through the market. It gives rise to many phenomena inexplicable in the simple market view and to problems of government policy. Oliver Williamson has been a leading figure in this analysis. His interpretations of corporate governance and of the complementarity between internal controls and the market have been the most profound in the literature. It is good that his leading essays are now available in collected form.' - Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University, US'Oliver Williamson's contributions to economics are certainly among the most important of the past several decades, and their importance will be increasingly recognized as economists come to grips with all that he has accomplished. This collection provides an unparalleled view of those contributions, and it belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who wants to understand complex economic transactions.' - David Kreps, Stanford University, US 'This book provides a terrific opportunity to have a collection of Oliver Williamson's best papers on transaction cost economics all in one convenient volume.' - Paul L. Joskow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and MIT 'Williamson's work on transaction cost economics has shaped the thinking of all social scientists about organizations and institutions. This volume reprints many of his seminal papers on the subject, and is valuable both as commemoration and for reference.' - Avinash Dixit, Princeton University, US Transaction cost economics has and continues to be a fruitful area of research. There is still much to be done in the field with past research being used in conjunction with the vast number of contractual phenomena that have yet to be investigated in transaction cost economics terms. New challenges are posed by the need to move beyond the design of new contractual instruments (such as financial derivatives) to include an examination of the lurking hazards that attend contract implementation. This important collection brings together Professor Williamson's key papers on transaction cost economics. It will be of benefit to academics, scholars and practitioners with an interest in this progressive subject.

As Trade Union membership has declined, union mergers have been prominent features in strategies of revitalization. Yet, there is very little systematic and empirical research into the effects of union mergers on the unions actually merging or of their impact on the wider union movement. This ground-breaking study fills this gap with its in-depth analysis of British unions' mergers since 1978: the point at which British unions moved from growth into decline, primarily due to adverse and damaging changes in the British industrial relations climate.
Initially the book describes the merger processes (transfers and amalgamations) and the extent of British unions' merger activities. This is placed in context by an examination of the generally hostile environment in which such mergers were sought and concluded. The different non-merger strategies adopted by unions to mitigate their membership loss and reduced political status are also assessed. In the body of the text the focus is on: the factors shaping unions' merger searches; the consequent merger negotiations; and the merged unions' subsequent performance. Because of the distinctly different opportunities for reform offered by transfers, as against amalgamations, the book examines each, in turn, in Parts 2 and 3.
The interpretative framework adopted for analysing transfers and amalgamations addresses the following elements of unions' interests: members' job territories; political objectives and means; democratic ethos and government; administration (including finance); and leaders' imperatives. Drawing on a wealth of material gathered over the past 20 years via surveys, interviews and action research the different purposes andperformances of the merged unions are critically assessed. It is concluded that transfers served to generate a limited range of improvements, generally of advantage to the minor partner union. In contrast, amalgamations are found to have the potential to transform many aspects of union organisation. However, in practice, they also tended to generate a number of unintended and unwelcome consequences. In conclusion mergers' contributions to the revitalization of the wider British trade union movement are also discussed.
This authoritative study of British unions' merger strategies is essential reading for all those interested in the future of trade unions and the potential mergers offer for generating significant reforms. Academics and students in employee relations, industrial relations, HRM and labour history should also find it useful for increasing their understanding of how unions have responded to changes in the economic and political context. Policy makers and union practitioners should also gain insights into the kinds of problems associated with unions' structural reforms.

This timely book analyses the relationship between trade unions, immigration and migrant workers across eleven European countries in the period between the 1990s and 2015. It constitutes an extensive update of a previous comparative analysis - published by Rinus Penninx and Judith Roosblad in 2000 - that has become an important reference in the field. The book offers an overview of how trade unions manage issues of inclusion and solidarity in the current economic and political context, characterized by increasing challenges for labour organizations and rising hostility towards migrants. The qualitative analysis of trade union strategies towards immigration and migrant workers is based on a common analytical framework centred on the idea of `dilemmas' that trade unions have to face when dealing with immigration and migrant workers. This approach facilitates comparative analysis and distinguishes patterns of union policies and actions across three groups of countries, identifying some explanations for observed similarities and differences. In addition, the book also includes theoretical chapters by expert scholars from a range of disciplinary fields including industrial relations, migration studies and political economy. This comprehensive comparative analysis is an essential resource for academics across a range of disciplines as well as policy-makers, practitioners and organizations involved in trade unions and migrant inclusion and integration.

Labor leader, social justice advocate, Chicano leader, and humanitarian are only some of the multifaceted renderings of Cesar Chavez. Ilan Stavans has compiled essays and first-person narratives that capture the multiple dimensions of this storied figure. To that end, Stavans's collection of timely articles separates fact from fiction, or as he puts it the "objective is the opposite of hagiography."

Broken into two sections, "Cesar Chavez" explores a variety of topics central to understanding the actual person instead of a shadowy apparition. The first part, "Considerations" offers critical assessments of Chavez's life that utilize different approaches to understanding his life, including cultural studies critiques, historical narrative that provide invaluable context, and even eulogies following his untimely death. The second section, "Voices" includes personal reflections on Chavez's life that explore his religiosity, his role as an "everyman," and the decline of the United Farm Workers union. The title is certain to assist readers in better comprehending this groundbreaking labor leader."

A MacArthur Award-winning scholar explores the explosive intersection of farming, immigration, and big business At the outset of World War II, California agriculture seemed to be on the cusp of change. Many Californians, reacting to the ravages of the Great Depression, called for a radical reorientation of the highly exploitative labour relations that had allowed the state to become such a productive farming frontier. But with the importation of the first braceros-""guest workers"" from Mexico hired on an ""emergency"" basis after the United States entered the war-an even more intense struggle ensued over how agriculture would be conducted in the state. Esteemed geographer Don Mitchell argues that by delineating the need for cheap, flexible farm labour as a problem and solving it via the importation of relatively disempowered migrant workers, an alliance of growers and government actors committed the United States to an agricultural system that is, in important respects, still with us. They Saved the Crops is a theoretically rich and stylistically innovative account of grower rapaciousness, worker militancy, rampant corruption, and bureaucratic bias. Mitchell shows that growers, workers, and officials confronted a series of problems that shaped-and were shaped by-the landscape itself. For growers, the problem was finding the right kind of labour at the right price at the right time. Workers struggled for survival and attempted to win power in the face of economic exploitation and unremitting violence. Bureaucrats tried to harness political power to meet the demands of, as one put it, ""the people whom we serve."" Drawing on a deep well of empirical materials from archives up and down the state, Mitchell's account promises to be the definitive book about California agriculture in the turbulent decades of the mid-twentieth century.

Anton Pannekoek discusses the viability of workers' councils as an effective means of administrating a socialist society, as contrasted to the centralized doctrines of state communism or state capitalism. Conceived as an alternative way to establish and sustain socialism, the workers councils have so far never been successfully established at a national scale. Part of the problem was disagreements among revolutionaries about their size and responsibilities; while Lenin supported the notion during the revolutionary period, the councils were phased out in favor of a centralized state, rather than diffused through the strata of society. Pannekoek draws on history for his ideas, noting the deficiencies of previous revolutions and the major objectives a future revolution should hold. The various tasks a state of worker's councils must accomplish, and the enemies that must be overcome - notably fascists, bourgeois elements and big business - are listed.

Provides practical, how-to advice for mediating a variety of conflicts, including those arising from divorces, custody and visitation decisions, family conflict, neighborhood grievances, educational disagreements, environmental disputes, and problems in the workplace.

By examining the history of the legal regulation of union actions, this fascinating book offers a new interpretation of American labor-law policy-and its harmful impact on workers today. Arguing that the decline in union membership and bargaining power is linked to rising income inequality, this important book traces the evolution of labor law in America from the first labor-law case in 1806 through the passage of right-to-work legislation in Michigan and Indiana in 2012. In doing so, it shares important insights into economic development, exploring both the nature of work in America and the part the legal system played-and continues to play-in shaping the lives of American workers. The book illustrates the intertwined history of labor law and politics, showing how these forces quashed unions in the 19th century, allowed them to flourish in the mid-20th century, and squelched them again in recent years. Readers will learn about the negative impact of union decline on American workers and how that decline has been influenced by political forces. They will see how the right-to-work and Tea Party movements have combined to prevent union organizing, to the detriment of the middle class. And they will better understand the current failure to reform labor law, despite a consensus that unions can protect workers without damaging market efficiencies. Provides a unique interpretation of labor law from a multidisciplinary perspective that encompasses history, politics, economics, culture, and psychology Considers the role organized labor played in creating the American middle class and what role it might play in the future Shows the adverse consequences of the contemporary right-to-work movement Examines the politicized nature of law in America Offers recommendations for political action to restore union vitality

How does the politics of working life shape modern organizations? Is our desire for meaningful, secure work increasingly at odds with corporate behaviour in a globalized economy? Does the rise of performance management culture represent an intensification of work, or create opportunities for the freewheeling individual career? This timely and engaging book, by leading authorities in the field, adopts the standpoint of the 'questioning observer'. It is for those who need an informed account of work that is accessible without being superficial. The book is unique in its multi-dimensional approach, weaving together analysis of individual work experience, political processes in organizations, and the wider context of the social structuring of markets. The book identifies central questions about working experience and answers them in a direct and lively manner. It has a strong analytical foundation based on a political economy framework, giving particular weight to the contradictory character of organizations. These contradictions turn on the competing demands placed on organizations and the different political projects of groups within them. This perspective integrates the chapters, and permits numerous scholarly debates to be addressed - including those on identity projects, gender and work, power and participation, escalation in decision-making, and the meaning of corporate social responsibility. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate classes in Organizational Behaviour, Business Strategy and the Sociology of Work and Employment. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in grappling with the complexity of the changing environment of work.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Preface.

"Laboras Home Front is an outstanding contribution. Balanced and fair-minded, Kerstenas richly documented account puts the AFL at the center of wartime labor relations and domestic history generally. . . . Kersten also sheds new light on the key role of the AFL in the emergence of social democratic liberalism during the era of World War II."
--Robert H. Zieger, University of Florida

"Labor's Home Front is the work of a careful and thorough historian. Kersten establishes the centrality of the often neglected American Federation of Labor to the story of labor's uphill efforts during World War II to breathe life into the lofty ideals embodied in the Four Freedoms. He skillfully weaves his case studies--on gender, race, union rivalries, safety, the open shop, and postwar planning--into a narrative fully attentive to the evolution of the Federation's ideology and politics, poignantly conveying the spirit of sacrifice and suffering without romanticizing his subjects. This is a genuinely important book."
--Eric Arnesen, author of "Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality"

One of the oldest, strongest, and largest labor organizations in the U.S., the American Federation of Labor (AFL) had 4 million members in over 20,000 union locals during World War II. The AFL played a key role in wartime production and was a major actor in the contentious relationship between the state, organized labor, and the working class in the 1940s. The war years are pivotal in the history of American labor, but books on the AFL's experiences are scant, with far more on the radical Congress of Industrial Unions(CIO).

Andrew E. Kersten closes this gap with Labor's Home Front, challenging us to reconsider the AFL and its influence on twentieth-century history. Kersten details the union's contributions to wartime labor relations, its opposition to the open shop movement, divided support for fair employment and equity for women and African American workers, its constant battles with the CIO, and its significant efforts to reshape American society, economics, and politics after the war. Throughout, Kersten frames his narrative with an original, central theme: that despite its conservative nature, the AFL was dramatically transformed during World War II, becoming a more powerful progressive force that pushed for liberal change.

The southern textile strikes of 1929-1931 were ferocious struggles--thousands of millhands went on strike, the National Guard was deployed, several people were killed and hundreds injured and jailed. The southern press, and for a time the national press, covered the story in enormous detail. In recounting developments, southern reporters and editors found themselves swept up on a painful and sweeping re-examination and reconstruction of southern institutions and values. Whalen explores the largely unknown world of southern journalism and investigates the ways in which the upheaval in textiles triggered profound soul-searching among southerners. The southern textile strikes of 1929-1931 were ferocious struggles--thousands of millhands went on strike, the National Guard was deployed, several people were killed and hundreds injured and jailed. The southern press, and for a time the national press, covered the story in enormous detail. In recounting developments, southern reporters and editors found themselves swept up on a painful and sweeping re-examination and reconstruction of southern institutions and values. Whalen explores the largely unknown world of southern journalism and investigates the ways in which the upheaval in textiles triggered profound soul-searching among southerners.

The worlds of labor, journalism, and the American South collide in this study. That collision, Whalen claims, is the prelude to the stunning social, economic, and cultural transformation of the American South which occurred in the last half of the twentieth century. The textile strikes shocked the mind of the South, a fact that can readily be seen in hometown papers, as reporters and editors ran the gamut from denial and scheming to hoping and dreaming--sometimes even bravely confronting the truth. The reevaluation of southern manners and mores that would culminate in the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s can be dated back to this period of turmoil.

In 1897 a small landholder named Robert Eastham shot and killed timber magnate Frank Thompson in Tucker County, West Virginia, leading to a sensational trial that highlighted a clash between local traditions and modernizing forces. Ronald L. Lewis's book uses this largely forgotten episode as a window into contests over political, environmental, and legal change in turn-of-the-century Appalachia. The Eastham-Thompson feud pitted a former Confederate against a member of the new business elite who was, as a northern Republican, his cultural and political opposite. For Lewis, their clash was one flashpoint in a larger phenomenon central to US history in the second half of the nineteenth century: the often violent imposition of new commercial and legal regimes over holdout areas stretching from Appalachia to the trans-Missouri West. Taking a ground-level view of these so-called "wars of incorporation," Lewis's powerful microhistory shows just how strongly local communities guarded traditional relationships to natural resources. Modernizers sought to convict Eastham of murder, but juries drawn from the traditionalist population refused to comply. Although the resisters won the courtroom battle, the modernizers eventually won the war for control of the state's timber frontier.

For undergraduate and graduate courses in labor relations and collective bargaining. Bring your best case to the table by putting theory into practice with this guide to labor relations, unions, and collective bargaining. Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining: Cases, Practice, and Law introduces students to collective bargaining and labor relations. This text is concerned with application, as well as coverage of labor history, laws, and practices.

This is a study of how governments and their specialist advisers, in an age of free trade and the minimal state, attempted to create a viable legal framework for trade unions and strikes. It traces the collapse, in the face of judicial interventions, of the regime for collective labour devised by the Liberal Tories in the 1820s, following the repeal of the Combination Acts. The new arrangements enacted in the 1870s allowed collective labour unparalleled freedoms, contended by the newly-founded Trades Union Congress. This book seeks to reinstate the view from government into an account of how the settlement was brought about, tracing the emergence of an official view - largely independent of external pressure - which favoured withdrawing the criminal law from peaceful industrial relations and allowing a virtually unrestricted freedom to combine. It reviews the impact upon the Home Office's specialist advisers of contemporary intellectual trends, such as the assaults upon classical and political economy and the historicized critiques of labour law developed by Liberal writers. Curthoys offers an historical context for the major court decisions affecting the security of trade union funds, and the freedom to strike, while the views of the judges are integrated within the terms of a wider debate between proponents of contending views of 'free trade' and 'free labour'. New evidence sheds light on the considerations which impelled governments to grant trade unions a distinctive form of legal existence, and to protect strikers from the criminal law. This account of the making of labour law affords many wider insights into the nature and inner workings of the Victorian state as it dismantled the remnants of feudalism (symbolized by the Master and Servant Acts) and sought to reconcile competing conceptions of citizenship in an age of franchise extension. After the repeal of the Combination Acts in the 1820s collective labour enjoyed limited freedoms. When this regime collapsed under judicial challenge, governments were obliged to devise a new legal framework for trade unions and strikes, enacted between 1871 and 1876. Drawing extensively upon previously unused governmental sources, this study affords many wider insights into the nature and inner workings of the mid-Victorian state, tracing the impact upon policy-makers of contemporary assaults upon classical political economy, and of the historicized critiques of labour law developed by Liberal writers. As contending views of 'free trade' and 'free labour' came into collision, an official view was formed which favoured allowing an unrestricted freedom to combine and sought to withraw the criminal law from peaceful industrial relations.

'Korea owes its rise to the ranks of the most prosperous nations, largely, to its investment in human resources. Yet, significant gaps remain that block further improvements in the lives of its workers and citizens. This book is as authoritative and comprehensive as it is insightful on the strengths of the Korean system and the challenges Korean policymakers face. In this respect, this book is not simply a telling of the Korean condition but rather of every nation aspiring to prosperity.' - Anil Verma, University of Toronto, Canada 'This book is a compedium of information on the evolution, development and practice of employment relations in South Korea. It records the dynamism that enables the tripartite actors in S. Korea to respond to changing economic and political development, as well as the tremendous industrialization that the country has witnessed in recent decades. The social partners have not only played an active role in shaping public policy, as well as the behaviour and interaction between them and the State. These have enormously contributed to industrial peace, industrialization and economic growth and development. This is a book that is surely to serve not only the academic community and the social partners in Korea, as they evaluate their own role, strategy and desirable changes so as to build on achieved success. For students of comparative employment relations, the book is a useful case study, and I commend it to the international employment relations community.' - Tayo Fashoyin, Retired Professor of Comparative Employment Relations; Former Director in the ILO, Geneva, and Former Secretary of ILERA The Evolution of Korean Industrial and Employment Relations explores current employment and workplace relations practice in South Korea, tracing their origins to key historical events and inevitable cultural adaptation in one of Asia?s ?'miraculous? democracies'. This volume challenges common but dated misconceptions of Korean industrial relations fixated on an economically successful but politically turbulent past. As Korea?'s employment relations continue to evolve, the accommodations made by companies and labor provide powerful insights for leaders in developing economies worldwide striving for prosperity, stability, and democratization. This book focuses on current realities both social and economic to uncover the potent challenges facing employers and workers in a slow-growth era of union decline. Lee and Kaufman provide a wide-ranging and global perspective authored by established and up-and-coming scholars both in and outside Korea in fields such as labor law, sociology, industrial relations, and labor economics. Up-to-date evaluation, data and analysis provide a modern and innovative perspective on employment and industrial relations practice. Scholars of global and specifically Asian industrial relations, human resource management and modern comparative labor relations will find this book of value. Policy makers and CEOs in emerging economics will benefit from the modern and innovative perspective on employment and industrial relations practice, including CEOs managing workplaces in South Korea. Contributors include: J.R. Bellace, C. Brewster, H.-G. Chang, Y.-K. Choi, F.L. Cooke, V.L. Doellgast, M. Gunderson, J.-J. Hur, I. Jun, B.E. Kaufman, D.-B. Kim, D.-O. Kim, H. Kim, H.-T. Kim, T.A. Kochan, H. Kwon, R. Lansbury, B.-H. Lee, K.-S. Lee, S.-H. Lee, S.-M. Lee, Y.-M. Lee, D. Lewin, Y. Nho, K.W. Park, M.J. Park, K.-P. Roh, P. Sheldon, P.B. Voos

Ideological and cultural factors do not define or influence the way labor relations are conducted in China's workplace, as many suppose they do. Oakley shows that the impact of the global market has significantly altered the way labor relations are actually practiced in China, which follows what she calls a global market paradigm. Nevertheless, Maoism and Confucianism continue to influence labor relations in China, and the ideological and cultural remnants still to be found could affect China's relations with other nations for years to come. Instead of taking a macro-level, industrial-relations approach common to other studies of Chinese labor, Oakley provides an in-depth look at the problems emerging on the shop floor, in the wake of economic reform. She provides translations of actual case histories, each of which details the causes of disputes, the various methods that were found to resolve them, and their eventual outcomes. At a broader level of analysis, her book tends to support convergence theories, of which globalization is the latest, proving that there are other features in contemporary market labor relations that have emerged in China in direct response to the demands of global competition. The result is a superbly detailed examination of a topic too little covered and seldom well understood.

Oakley begins by considering the features of market labor relations and the emergence of a globalization-friendly style, in both Western and Asian economics. She continues with an analysis of the ideological and cultural dimensions of the relationship between managers and managed. In the next three chapters, she discusses the causes, resolution methods, and labor dispute outcomes. In each case she refers to the evidence of market, Maoist, and Confucian influences. The conclusion she draws is that while Confucian ideas and traces of Maoism continue to have an impact on the development and resolution of labor disputes in post-reform China overall, Chinese labor relations conform to the demands of the global, not the provincial, marketplace.

Royo examines how national-level social bargaining was established in Portugal and Spain during the last two decades, despite unpropitious institutional and structural conditions. He argues that this development was the result of the reorientation of the strategies of the social actors. With their support for these macro-economic agreements labor unions sought to participate in labor and economic reforms and avoid the implementation of unilateral policies on the part of governments, while mitigating the decline in their bargaining power at the workplace level. In addition, Royo contends that a process of institutional learning and increasing autonomy by unions from political parties, particularly in Spain, have further enhanced social dialogue and led the social actors to conclude that previous confrontational strategies were detrimental to the interests of their constituencies and threatened their own survival. Royo claims that the emergence of new institutions to promote tripartite social bargaining in both countries resulted in the institutionalization of the bargaining process and contributed to a transformation in the pattern of industrial relations. Of particular interest to scholars and researchers involved with Iberian politics, labor, and political economy.