European Labor Unions

European Labor Unions aims to provide a picture of the evolution of trade unionism in Europe. It includes 31 national chapters representing all European countries at the time the book was planned in 1988, with the exception of Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Monaco, but including such countries as Turkey, Iceland, and Yugoslavia. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 inaugurated a period of uncertainty in central and eastern Europe that has involved dramatic changes in national boundaries. Rather than attempting to adapt to a process that showed no sign of stabilising, it was decided to retain the volume’s original chapter structure, while encouraging the authors writing about the affected regions to explore the initial implications of these momentous changes for the trade union movement. European Labor Unions summarises a good deal of information, much of it not previously available in English. In addition, it contains the first scholarly account of certain labour organisations in any language. Although coverage is selective, the country chapters generally include profiles of all important national trade union federations and confederations, and of individual unions representing the most significant ideological and political variants, as well as some of the major national occupational sectors. Both defunct and existing organisations are included. Efforts have also been made to discuss and, where possible, to illustrate developments affecting white-collar workers, women, and religious or national minorities.