The Rise of Community Unions
The 1970’s and 1980’s witnessed profound restructuring of labour markets. Neoliberal policies that emerged in the 1970’s were adopted by many governments around the world, and included measures such as deregulation and privatization. These policies created insecurity in employment by breaking down institutional regulatory and political support for unions. Traditional unions experienced a loss of power, influence, and members. During this period of economic restructuring, communities were forced to form coalitions with the labor movement to fight factory closures and relocations that were the basis of many local economies. Community unionism can be understood as a response to neoliberalism and globalization: it was a turn back to the local level-or community- in organizing. It seeks to organize some of the most vulnerable people- immigrants,women,and people of colour- who have been disproportionately affected by the growth of exploitative working conditions in the neoliberal economy.
Read more about this topic: Community Unionism
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