Emergent Cultures of Activism: Young People and the Building of Alliances Between Unions and Other Social Movements

Abstract

This article considers emergent cultures of activism among young people in the labor movement. The authors question whether unions should reconsider creating different forms of organization to make themselves relevant to new generations of workers. Our comparative case study research from the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—where young people are engaged in “alter-activism” and unions have successfully recruited and included young workers—shows that there is potential for building alliances between trade unions and other social movements. The authors suggest that emerging cultures of activism provide unions with a way of appealing to wider and more diverse constituencies.