Globalization and Convergence/Divergence Theories of Unionism Revisited: Towards a Comprehensive Analytical Model

Abstract

This article is concerned with predicting the future of unionism in a globalized environment. For this, it considers rival hypotheses that point to different paths of unionism. The traditional convergence theory of unionism highlighted the unitary evolution towards business unionism while the divergence approach pointed to the variety of union identities and functions. The convergence-divergence debate has entered a new round in the context of globalization. While the contemporary version of convergence claim highlights the unanimous decline of labor unions as a result of capital relocation and downward competitive pressures, the variation-finding approach emphasizes the persistent differences in union influences due to the differences in national institutional settings. Yet recent studies of labor unions have demonstrated that there exists a substantial subnational variation in union strategic effectiveness within same national institutional settings. Hence while labor unions are faced with similar challenges brought by globalization, unions have different abilities to retain their influences. To explain these contradictory trends of converging divergences, this article tries to develop an alternative framework that combines the interaction between environmental changes and strategic action of state, employers and labor. It is expected that the alternative framework provides a better tool to understand the dynamics of union development.