Documents Maciejewska, Malgorzata 8 results

"In the context of the debates on the future of trade unionism, this article explores the strategies, tools and tactics of two, small radical unions in Poland, the All-Poland Workers' Trade Union Confederation of Labour and the All-Poland Trade Union Workers' Initiative.1 The analysis of both cases, based on research undertaken by the authors in 2010–2016, demonstrates that, even in the unfavourable legal context, it is possible to organise workers regardless of their employment status and forms. In this respect, the exploration of the strategies and tools of radical unions helps to understand the role of grass-roots workers' agency in provoking organisational changes within the trade union movements in increasingly difficult structural and institutional conditions."

"This article presents case study research conducted by participant observation in an electronics assembly plant based in one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Poland. The study was part of a broader research project on women workers' lives and SEZs development run by Feminist Think Tank, during which the author was employed as a temporary worker and worked on the production line for three months, from October to December 2011, during a production peak in the zone. Embedded in the context of industrial and labour market changes over the last decade, the case study illustrates the interrelated processes of neoliberal economic restructuring, development of SEZs and their consequences for women workers' lives in one Polish region."

" The General Motors (GM) case stands out for its transnational employee cooperation. During the crisis the ‘national turn' of union politics seems to have eroded solidarity and mutual trust relations. In this article the authors suggest disentangling the behaviour of labour representatives and their attitudes, identities and feelings to develop a more sophisticated perspective on labour transnationalism. Concepts of sociological neo-institutionalism and empirical evidence from two automobile companies (GM/Opel and Volkswagen) in Germany, the UK and Poland are used to investigate the conditions under which transnational solidarity occurs and prevails. The authors conclude that solidarity in both companies has not come to an end and contributes to repertoires of contention in future labour conflicts."