How do local unions strategize against multinational corporations’ restructuring threats? Some insights from France

Mathieu Dupuis

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2020, vol. 41, issue 1, 55-72

Abstract: This article explores local trade union strategies in the context of multinational corporations’ (MNCs) restructuring in French auto suppliers. From a theoretical standpoint, this study proposes a multidimensional analytic framework confronting three different, yet complementary, approaches: (1) the relative power of unions and how this power manifests itself in the social relations between actors; (2) the national institutions and opportunity structures that constrain actor choices; and (3) the contingencies relating to the structures of multinational firms and their production sites. From a methodological standpoint, the article compares two different local cases (France-1, France-2) that have experienced restructuring threats from their parent MNCs. The core data of this research are based on semi-structured interviews with elected union representatives from both sites, as well as expert witnesses at various levels within the sector. This article argues that unions’ strategies are best understood as a function of power resources and capabilities, social relationships at different levels, and types of MNC governance. In particular, the article argues that local trade unions should develop ‘cognitive’ power, a strategic capability, in order to impact decision-making in multinational corporations.

Keywords: Automobile industry; economic restructuring; multinational corporations; trade union strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:41:y:2020:i:1:p:55-72

DOI: 10.1177/0143831X16684555

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