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Getting Through the Hard Times Together? Chinese Workers and Unions Respond to the Economic Crisis

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Friedman, Eli D.
Abstract
How do post-socialist unions respond to market crisis? And what are the implications of this response for labor representation? Drawing on literature on post-socialist labor and union democracy, I argue that economic crisis affects not just labor – capital and labor – state relations, but also the relationship between union representatives and workers. Such a dynamic is highlighted by an empirical account of the divergent activities of workers and All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) unions in China following the economic crisis of 2008. While the union responded to mass unemployment with an administrative and policy-oriented strategy, workers took to the streets in increasing numbers. This divergence led to several instances of conflict, and, by 2010, it was possible to detect small but significant shifts in the union’s approach to dealing with labor unrest.
Date Issued
2012-09-01Subject
All-China Federation of Trade Unions; China; economic crisis; protest post-socialist; strikes; union democracy
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185612448762Rights
Required Publisher Statement: © SAGE. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Final version published as: Friedman, E. (2012). Getting through the hard times together? Chinese workers and unions respond to the economic crisis. Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(4), 459-475. doi: 10.1177/0022185612448762
Type
unassigned