Comparative Coalition Building and the Revitalization of the Labor Movement

Abstract

This paper draws on material from Germany, Britain, and the United States to reflect on the contribution that coalition with other groups in civil society can make to the revitalization of the labor movement. It presents an analytical framework for the analysis of coalition-building that covers the functions and types of coalition and the factors that prompt unions to make use of this method. The paper ends by arguing that there are distinct national patterns of coalition-building that reflect enduring differences in union identity and the institutional context in which unions operate.