Reversing gear

Trade union responses to economic crises at Opel (1974–1985)

Bibliographic Data

ID8419871
AuthorsThomas Fetzer (0000-0002-5148-4610, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume59
Issue1
Pages141-157
Publication date2017-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBusiness History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00076791.2016.1223627
OpenAlexW2509010039
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited12

The oil crises of 1973 and 1979 ended Western Europe’s post-war boom and came as a shock for trade unions, as the combined effect of growing unemployment, heightened competition and accelerated technological change put organised labour on the defensive. The article illustrates this transformation with the example of Opel, where one of the most assertive German union organisations was suddenly forced to shift its focus from wage militancy to employment protection. The case study also highlights some of the key shifts in post-crises German trade union strategies, including the politics of working time reduction and a new emphasis on ‘co-management’

Boom · Competition (biology · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Geography · German · International trade · Political science · Politics · Shock (circulatory · Trade union · Unemployment · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Engineering · European Socioeconomic and Political Studies · Labor Movements and Unions

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