Cross-National Comparisons of Social Movement Unionism: Diversities of Labour Movement Revitalization in Japan, Korea and the United States

Description

For the past two decades efforts to halt the decline in union numbers and revitalize the labour movement have largely resided in social movement unionism (SMU). In the first English-language book to compare SMU in Japan, Korea and the United States, scholars from the three countries examine its emergence as a response to neoliberal globalization. Cross-National Comparisons of Social Movement Unionism moves beyond previous studies of SMU and union revitalization which have focussed on the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. The eleven chapters offer empirical and theoretical analyses of the impact of SMU on existing labour movements, and explain the mediating factors that account for the diversity of SMU across national boundaries, arguing that its forms and activities are mediated by different institutional, political and economic contexts. Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: Theoretical and Empirical Issues of Cross-national Comparisons of Social Movement Unionism • Akira Suzuki Part One: The Impact of Social Movement Unionism on Existing Labour Movements 2 The Power of the Powerless: New Schemas and Resources for Organizing Workers in Neoliberal Times • Jennifer Jihye Chun 3 The Limits and Possibilities of Social Movement Unionism in Japan in the Context of Industrial Relations Institutions • Akira Suzuki 4 A Renewal of Solidarity or Continued Decline? The Korean Retail Workers’ Struggles against Neoliberalism • Joohee Lee Part Two: Social Movement Unionism from a Cross-national Perspective 5 The Diversity of Social Movement Unionism: Towards a Cross-National, Comparative Framework • Nobuyuki Yamada 6 Varieties of Community Unionism: A Comparison of Community Unionism in Japan and Korea • Minjin Lee Part Three: Meso-level Mediating Factors Explaining the Diversities of Social Movement Unionism 7 Labour and Community Coalitions: Challenges for Growth • Stephanie Luce 8 Political Activism and Union Revivalin Australia, the United States and Japan • Charles Weathers 9 Women’s Labour NPOs and Women’s Trade Unions in Japan • Koshi Endo 10 Success While Others Fail: Union Strategy against Railway Restructuring in South Korea • Heiwon Kwon 11 The Formation of a Region-based Amalgamated Union Movement and Its Possibilities • Hirohiko Takasu Appendix Notes on Contributors and Translators Index