"New actors in firm-level industrial relations: The role of NGOs and networks in union busting and attacks on works councils

Works councils, trade unions, employers and employers' associations, as well as state bodies are among the central players in the so-called “dual system” of employee representation in Germany. In addition, there have always been other actors (e. g., educational organizations or law firms). More recently, however, new actors have increasingly appeared on the scene, such as NGOs, informal networks or solidarity committees, which can be understood as responses to increasing conflict situations. Based on a qualitative study, the article examines the background and characteristics of these new actors using the conflict example of union busting. It is argued that two factors favor the emergence of new actors: First, a power imbalance between the parties exists when conflicts can no longer be handled by at least one party with the use of existing resources and procedures. Second, when the binding force of existing norms and cultural patterns is weak or on the wane. Hence, new actors address resource-related as well as cognitive changes in the institutional system. We developed the hypothesis that new actors play an institutional role when the conflicts reveal a certain persistence. In order to better understand the new quality of union busting disputes theoretically, we propose a conceptual shift in focus to accommodate the classical concept of “arenas”."

Support: Digital