The trade union movement internationally is finding itself peripheralized by a series of mutually-reinforcing processes: the on-going world economic crisis; the uneven transition from an industrial to an information and service capitalism; the aggressive policies of neo-liberalism; the collapse of Communism and Radical Nationalism; the decline of the globalization that undermines the nation-state to which union hopes have long been pinned. The editors argue that this crisis provides an opportunity for labor to recover or reinvent itself.

This is an edited collection of items on unionism worldwide, recognising the crisis that an informatised and globalised capitalism implies for work, workers and the trade-union movement. It considers radical alternatives for labour organisation and action in the 21st century. The book includes contributions by informed academics and unionists and proposes alternative union policies or models in relation to the working class(es), to women, democracy, ecology, internationalism.

A stellar collection of essays. Indispensable reading.-Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel Center This comprehensive volume provides a glimpse into the wide-ranging discussions, debates, and arguments that have gone into making the World Social Forum (WSF) one of the more prominent platforms of alternative ideas and practices in the present world. Jai Sen, an independent researcher living in New Delhi, has contributed to a number of works documenting the World Social Forum. Peter Waterman worked for the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, for nearly thirty years. He is the author of Globalisation, Social Movements, and the New Internationalisms.

A stellar collection of essays. Indispensable reading.-Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel Center This comprehensive volume provides a glimpse into the wide-ranging discussions, debates, and arguments that have gone into making the World Social Forum (WSF) one of the more prominent platforms of alternative ideas and practices in the present world. Jai Sen, an independent researcher living in New Delhi, has contributed to a number of works documenting the World Social Forum. Peter Waterman worked for the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, for nearly thirty years. He is the author of Globalisation, Social Movements, and the New Internationalisms.

The start of the twenty-first century has been marked by global demands for economic justice. From the pink tide and Arab spring to Occupy and anti-austerity, the last twenty years have witnessed the birth of a new type of mass mobilisation. Where Are The Unions? compares, for the first time, the challenges faced by movements in Latin America, the Arab world and Europe. Workers' strikes and protests were a critical part of these events, yet their role has been significantly underestimated in many of the subsequent narratives. This book focuses on the complex interactions between organised workers, the unemployed, self-employed, youth, students and the state, and critically assesses the concept of the 'precariat'. With contributions from across four continents, this is the most comprehensive look at the global context of mass mobilisation in the twenty-first century.