A century of organized labor in France : a union movement for the twenty-first century? / edited by Herrick Chapman, Mark Kesselman, and Martin Schain.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Contributor:

Chapman, Herrick.

Kesselman, Mark.

Schain, Martin, 1940-

Conference Name:

Century of Trade Unionism in France, What Type of Trade Unionism for the 21st Century? (1996 : New York, New York)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labor unions--France--History--Congresses.

Labor unions.

France.

History.

Labor unions--Political activity--France--History--Congresses.

Labor unions--Political activity.

Labor unions--France--Forecasting--Congresses.

Forecasting.

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

xi, 260 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Summary:

Since the year 1895, when the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) was born, the trade union movement in France began a turbulent century of development that has had an enormous impact on French polity, society, and economy. For the last century the French labor movement has occupied a unique and crucial place in the working class movement in Europe as a whole. In February of 1996, Columbia University and New York University marked the centennial of the French labor movement by jointly sponsoring a conference to reflect on the history of this movement and on the future prospects for trade unionism in France. A Century of Organized Labor in France is a collection of the papers presented at that conference, written by distinguished historians and social scientists from both France and the United States, as well as important French trade union leaders. Offering an interdisciplinary approach that is rare among studies on this subject, this volume examines the trajectory of the French labor movement and provides rich lessons for students of contemporary France, Western European politics and society, and comparative labor movements.

Contents:

1. Introduction: The Exceptional Trajectory of the French Labor Movement / Herrick Chapman, Mark Kesselman, Martin A. Schain 1

Part I Historical Trajectory: Decline of Militantism, Interunion Relations, and Relations with Political Parties

2. Strategies and Events: The "Form" of the CGT from 1936 to 1968 / Rene Mouriaux 25

3. Reconceptualizing the Relationship between Unions and Politics in France / Anthony Daley 35

Part II Economic Restructuring and Technological Change

4. The Restructuring of Capital and Employment / Jean Magniadas 61

5. Technology and the Labor Movement: Constraint or Opportunity for the CGT? / Mark Kesselman 73

Part III Unions, Society, and Worker Mobilization

6. Immigration and Trade Unions in France: A Problem and an Opportunity / Martin A. Schain 97

7. Trade Unions and the Diversification of Class Structure: Technical Culture and Criticism of Power / Guy Groux 115

8. The French Strike and Social Divide: The End of Consensus Politics? / Bernard H. Moss 127

9. Women and French Unions: Historical Perspectives on the Current Crisis of Representation / Laura Levine Frader 145

Part IV Unions, Public Opinion, and the State

10. One Century Later: Unions in French Public Opinion

Representations, Images, and Expectations / Roland Cayrol 169

11. Labor, Power, and the State in France: Lessons of Industrial Restructuring / W. Rand Smith 189

12. Virtual Trade Unionism in France: A Commentary on the Question of Unions, Public Opinion, and the State / Chris Howell 205

Part V The International Challenge: Globalization and the European Union

13. The CGT's Internationalism: What Europe, What World? / George Ross 215

14. The New International Trade Unionism / Jean-Pierre Page 241.

Notes:

A collection of some of the papers presented at the seminar: A century of trade unionism in France, what type of trade unionism for the 21st century? which was held in February 1996 and sponsored by Columbia University and New York University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0312164971

OCLC:

38043112