Dossier 2025:
Trade union strategies in the contemporary world – political economies, digitalization of the economy, and ecological transition
The succession of economic, political, and ideological transformations that have taken place over the last few decades have profoundly conditioned the context in which trade unionism operates today. Although this context is extremely unfavorable for “organized labor”, unions cannot be denied their reflective nature as social actors, with different resources of power that combine in unique ways in different sectors, countries, and regions, seeking to develop new organizational, political, and ideological perspectives and practices in order to maintain their role as representatives of workers.
Firstly, we seek to explore how trade unions have acted in a context of renewed geopolitical rivalries, which seek to rearrange power relations on an international scale; and in which, on the other hand, the crisis of legitimacy of the neoliberal model in certain regions of the world does not correspond to a crisis of its hegemony, but rather to more authoritarian forms of neoliberalism, also expressed in the regulation of labor and the institutional resources of organizations representing workers.
Secondly, the aim is to deepen the analysis of union discourse, strategies, and practices developed in response to the digitization of the economy. Reference to this dimension has become ubiquitous in mainstream discourse, oscillating between techno-optimism that advocates accelerated or disruptive transformations and views that associate technological incorporation with the constant dynamics of capitalist economies. Given the multifaceted and differentiated impacts of digitization on employment levels, working conditions, regulation, and job content, it is important to understand the extent to which unions have sought to shape the meaning of these transformations and changes and what experiences exist in this field at the national, international, and sectoral levels.
Finally, climate change and the energy transition have posed challenges and dilemmas for the union movement. The demands of the climate movement have not always been compatible with those of the trade union movement. On the part of trade unionism, strategies range from denial of the problem, to blocking mitigation measures, to adopting a transition agenda within the framework of “green capitalism”, or more transformative positions and strategies regarding the mode of production based on extractivism and productivism.
In this issue of the journal, we are looking for examples and/or case studies in which trade union movements, at the local, national, or international level, have contributed to building alliances that promote a just transition, reflecting on the mediations between this agenda and the reality of different sectors of activity, ideological positions, and economic circumstances.
This dossier therefore encourages the submission of articles with plural theoretical and methodological approaches focused on the study of trade union strategies and experiences of conflict and collective bargaining to address the challenges of representativeness and the transformations driven by the digitalization of the economy and the ecological transition, in a context of a reorganizing international division of labor. Contributions based on national or sectoral case studies or more theoretical approaches covering one or more of the themes highlighted in this Call for Papers are welcome. Each article may focus on one or more of these dimensions, provided that they relate to some of the challenges outlined: representativeness, digitization, ecological transition, and international reorganization of labor in the context of new geostrategic rivalries.
Some suggested topics are as follows:
- Impact of geopolitical transformations on the reconfiguration of the international division of labor and union strategies.
- Crisis of legitimacy of neoliberalism, expressions of neoliberal authoritarianism, and their effects on labor and unions.
- Organizational and discursive strategies and mobilization of different types of union power to maintain or strengthen representativeness and respond to the challenges of the digital transition and climate transition.
- Union responses to technological transformations, automation, algorithm-mediated work, and collective bargaining experiences in sectors with greater digitization of work processes.
- Trade union attitudes towards the energy transition and climate policies and trade union contributions to a just transition agenda.
- Conflicts or alliances between the trade union movement and the climate movement and case studies on the integration of an environmental and climate justice agenda into labor struggles.
- Building lasting alliances and reflecting on the political and macroeconomic debates necessary for a post-growth, relocalized, and decarbonized economy.
- Innovative experiences of collective bargaining in contexts of technological and ecological change.
- Comparative approaches to union strategies in different countries, regions, or sectors, in relation to the topics covered by this Call.
Papers are requested to be submitted until September 31, 2025.
Additional information can be requested by e-mail: rbest@unicamp.br.
Organizers: Hugo Dias (CESIT/IE/Unicamp) and José Soeiro (IS-UP/FLUP)