Spanish Unions: Institutional Legacy and Responsiveness to Economic and Industrial Change

Abstract

Using empirical data drawn from multiple sources, including interview material, the author examines Spanish trade unions' responses to the reorganization of Spain's economy and changes in the structure of industrial production in the 1980s and 1990s. She argues that Spanish unions, though not in a strong position compared to unions in other Western European countries, avoided a crisis situation by designing flexible strategies and redefining some aspects of Spain's industrial relations institutions. This quick adjustment was possible, the author argues, because the organizations, institutions, and strategies requiring change were not deeply ingrained, given the short history of democratic politics in Spain.