Collective Action within Cross-Border Union Alliances : Evidence from Two Contrasting Case Studies

One of the main union innovations in the social regulation of transnational firms involves the emergence of cross-border union alliances that seek to provide a space for cooperation and development of joint strategies by unions representing workers in the same firm. Based on two case studies conducted in two multinational companies operating in different sectors and an empirical body of data that includes more than one hundred interviews with union officials in various countries, this article examines how union collective action is constructed within these alliances. Drawing on three lines of analysis, each grounded in a traditional theory of collective action – resource mobilization theory, social regulation theory and the structure of political opportunities, this article highlights some determining factors in the development of collective action within cross-border union alliances. In addition to the importance for actors to invest resources in these alliances, we find that the organizational formalization of these alliances, as observed in the definition of organizational rules and the creation of decision-making “centres,” can play a decisive role in their propensity to initiate collective actions. Our study also underlines the importance for the union actors involved to define a mobilizing joint project which conveys both an aim and a meaning to the planned actions. Finally, given the uneven results observed in these two cases, this article highlights both the important potential contribution of these alliances to union renewal and the many obstacles to the development of cross-border union action