This article is based on two case studies and an empirical body of data that includes more than 100 interviews with union officials in various countries; it examines how collective union action is constructed within cross-border union alliances. Drawing on three lines of analysis, each grounded in a theory of collective action, it shows that, although the parties involved have invested considerable resources, the long-term presence of key players capable of carrying out framing duties can be a decisive factor in the development of collective action. The article also underlines how important it is for the unions involved to define a mobilizing joint project that can help develop a common sense of belonging. The findings in the two cases are uneven, and the article therefore also highlights one of the main weaknesses of cross-border alliances, namely the fact that they are dependent on stable organizational structures in the multinational corporations.
AnnerM (2007) The paradox of labour transnationalism: Trade union campaigns for labour standards in international institutions. In: PhelanC (ed.) The Future of Organised Labour: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 63–90.
2.
AnnerM (2011) Solidarity Transformed: Labor Responses to Globalization and Crisis in Latin America. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press.
3.
AnnerMGreerIHauptmeierM. (2006) The industrial determinants of transnational solidarity: Global interunion politics in three sectors. European Journal of Industrial Relations12(1): 7–27.
4.
ArmbrusterR (1998) Cross-border labor organizing in the garment and automobile industries: The Phillips Van-Heusen and Ford Cuautitlán cases. Journal of World-Systems Research4(1): 20–51.
5.
BartonRFairbrotherP (2009) The local is now the global: Building a union coalition in the international transport and logistics sector. Relations industrielles/Industrial Relations64(4): 685–703.
6.
BeckU (2000) What is Globalization?Cambridge: Polity Press.
7.
BenfordRSnowD (2000) Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology26: 611–639.
8.
BergeneAC (2007) Trade unions walking the tightrope in defending workers’ interest: Wielding a weapon too strong?Labor Studies Journal32(2): 142–166.
9.
BernaciakM (2010) Cross-border competition and trade union responses in the enlarged EU: Evidence from the automotive industry in Germany and Poland. European Journal of Industrial Relations16(2): 119–135.
10.
BoliJThomasG (eds) (1999) Constructing World Culture: International Non-Governmental Organizations since 1875. Chicago: Stanford University Press.
11.
BorgersF (1999) Global unionism – Beyond the rhetoric: The CWA North Atlantic Alliance. Labor Studies Journal24(1): 107–122.
12.
BrecherJCoselloTSmithB (2006) International labour solidarity: The new frontier. New Labor Forum15(1): 9–18.
13.
BronfenbrennerK (2007) Global Union: Challenging Transnational Capital through Cross-Border Campaigns. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
14.
CoxRW (1971) Labor and transnational relations. International Organization25(3): 385–424.
15.
CroucherRCottonE (2009) Global Unions, Global Business: Global Union Federations and International Business. London: Middlesex University Press.
16.
Della PortaDTarrowS (2005) Transnational Protest and Global Activism. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield.
17.
Della PortaDAndrettaMMoscaLReiterH (2006) Globalization from Below: Transnational Activists and Protest Networks. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
18.
DickenP (2011) Global Shift: Transforming the World Economy, 6th edn.New York: Guilford Press.
19.
Dufour-PoirierM (2011) Construction d’une communauté syndicale internationale: analyse d’une perspective Nord-Sud. PhD dissertation, HEC Montreal (Canada).
20.
Dufour-PoirierMLévesqueC (2013) Building North–South transnational trade union alliances: Prospects and challenges. In: FairbrotherPHennebertM-ALévesqueC (eds) Transnational Trade Unionism: Building Union Power. New York: Routledge, pp. 42–56.
21.
EisenhardtK (1989) Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review14(4): 532–550.
22.
FetzerT (2008) European Works Councils as risk communities: The case of General Motors. European Journal of Industrial Relations14(3): 289–308.
23.
FinnemoreMSikkinkK (1998) International norm dynamics and political change. International Organization52(4): 887–917.
24.
FregeCHeeryETurnerL (2003) Comparative coalition building and the revitalization of the labor movement. In: Industrial Relations Research Association Conference, Washington, DC.
25.
FrundtH (1999) Trade and cross-border labor strategies in the Americas. Economic and Industrial Democracy17(3): 387–417.
26.
GajewskaK (2009) Transnational Labour Solidarity: Mechanisms of Commitment to Cooperation within the European Trade Union Movement. New York: Routledge.
27.
GereffiG (2001) Shifting governance structures in global commodity chains, with special reference to the Internet. American Behavioral Scientist44(10): 1616–1637.
28.
GoffmanE (1974) Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of the Experience. New York: Harper Colophon.
GreerIHauptmeierM (2012) Identity work: Sustaining transnational collective action at General Motors Europe. Industrial Relations51(2): 275–297.
31.
HennebertMAFairbrotherPLévesqueC (2012) The mobilization of international framework agreements: A source of power for social actors?Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal33(4): 691–714.
32.
IonJFranguiakadisSViotP (2005) Militer aujourd’hui. Paris: Éditions Autrement.
33.
KayT (2011) NAFTA and the Politics of Labor Transnationalism. New York: Cambridge University Press.
34.
KeohaneRNyeJ (1971) Transnational relations and world politics: An introduction. International Organisation25(3): 329–349.
35.
LévesqueCMurrayG (2010) Trade-union cross-border alliances within MNCs: Disentangling union dynamics at the local, national and international levels. Industrial Relations Journal41(4): 312–332.
36.
LillieNMartínez LucioM (2012) Rollerball and the spirit of capitalism: Competitive dynamics within the global context, the challenge to labour transnationalism, and the emergence of ironic outcomes. Critical Perspectives on International Business8(1): 74–92.
37.
LitvakIAMauleCJ (1972) The union response to international corporations. Industrial Relations11(1): 62–71.
38.
McAdamDTarrowSTillyC (2001) Dynamics of Contention. New York: Cambridge University Press.
39.
McCarthyJZaldM (1977) Resource mobilization and social movements: A partial theory. American Journal of Sociology82(6): 1212–1241.
40.
Martínez LucioM (2010) Dimensions of internationalism and the politics of the labour movement: understanding the political and organisational aspects of labour networking and co-ordination. Employee Relations32(6): 538–556.
41.
MelucciA (1991) Qu’y-a-t-il de nouveau dans les nouveaux mouvements sociaux? In: MaheuLSalesA (eds) La Recomposition du politique. Montreal: L’Harmattan, pp. 129–162.
42.
NiforouC (2012) International framework agreements and industrial relations governance: Global rhetoric versus local realities. British Journal of Industrial Relations50(2): 352–373.
43.
OberschallA (1973) Social Conflict and Social Movements. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
44.
O’BrianRGoetzAMScholteJAWilliamsM (2000) Contesting Global Governance: Multilateral Institutions and Global Social Movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
45.
OlsonM (1966) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Boston: Harvard University Press.
46.
PapadakisK (2011) Shaping Global Industrial Relations: The Impact of International Framework Agreements. Geneva: International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies.
47.
PizzornoA (1990) Considérations sur les théories des mouvements sociaux. Politix9: 74–80.
48.
Risse-KappenT (ed.) (1995) Bringing Transnational Relations Back in: Non-state Actors, Domestic Structures and International Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3–36.
49.
SnowDBenfordR (1986) Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review51(4): 464–481.
50.
SnowDARochfordBEWordenSKBenfordRD (1986) Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review51: 464–481.
51.
TarrowS (2005) The New Transnational Activism. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
52.
TarrowS (2011) Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, 3rd edn.New York: Cambridge University Press.
53.
TattersallA (2010) Power in Coalition. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press/St Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
54.
TillyC (1986) The Contentious French: Four Centuries of Popular Struggle. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
55.
TouraineAWieviorkaMDubetF (1984) Le Mouvement ouvrier. Paris: Éditions Fayard.
56.
YinRK (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. London: Sage.
