(Same)-sex in the city: Urbanisation and LGBTI rights expansion

Despite the notable successes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activism in the region, individual European countries have varied considerably in the extent and speed with which they have adopted legislation to recognise the rights of their LGBTI citizens. Scholars have often turned to modernisation theory to explain these variable outcomes and argue that high levels of national wealth are an important factor in the success of LGBTI movements. Although the correlation between modernity, economic development and tolerance of LGBTI lifestyles is often treated as a truism in the literature, scholars have paid less attention to the precise mechanisms by which the complex processes associated with modernisation facilitate policy change. Drawing on the classic works of both modernisation theory and gay and lesbian history, we examine a less explored route by which modernisation leads to the expansion of LGBTI rights. Specifically, we posit that urbanisation facilitates the adoption of rights policies by strengthening LGBTI movements and enhancing their political effectiveness. To test this proposition, we use event history analysis and an original dataset that contains measures for institutional, cultural, economic and movement variables, as well as measures of urbanisation in 44 European countries between 1980 and 2015. Our findings support the contention that urbanisation has a strong effect on the formation of LGBTI movement organisations as well as the speed with which European states adopt both same-sex union and anti-discrimination legislation. The relationship between urbanisation and rights expansion persists even after controlling for a country's level of wealth, religious adherence and the influence of European institutions and norms.     

Reformers and revolutionaries: the battle for the working classes in Gibraltar and its hinterland, 1902–1921

Abstract

This article examines labour organisation in Gibraltar and its hinterland from c.1914 to 1921. It demonstrates that the traditionally strong links which had existed between organisations in Gibraltar and neighbouring Spain, links based upon a shared belief in anarchist ideas and practices, had, by 1921, broken down due to the adoption of gradualist and constitutionalist politics and industrial relations by workers on the Rock. Two principle agents drove this change. First, in 1919, the British Workers’ Union established a branch in Gibraltar which successfully worked to establish itself as principle negotiator and representative of workers on the Rock. Second, a reforming governor in Gibraltar undertook to open up political spaces in Gibraltar which offered the potential to work with, rather than against, the state in the colony. By the end of the period, anarchism, and anarchist ideas, was not extinguished in Gibraltar, but they would never again serve as the inspiration for industrial and political campaigns on the Rock, much to the delight of both Gibraltarian employers and the British colonial authorities. This case-study invites further consideration of how British style trade union activity in the empire displaced indigenous forms of organising, a subject which has heretofore received scant attention.     

David Brody: Heir to the Wisconsin school

Recently, there has been a move to use a ‘fine-grained’ approach to the study of the multinational companies (MNCs). In this paper, we examine in depth a significant part of the maintenance activities in the process plants of petrochemical MNCs in the UK. While the MNCs have de-recognized their internal trade unions, and out-sourced maintenance to on-site contractors, we find that such work is still linked to trade union recognition. In this sector, the MNCs have in general adopted a national agreement for their on-site contractors. This paper discusses and evaluates the changing situation and provides a unique contribution to theory regarding the rationale behind trade union recognition in that isomorphism underlies the national recognition for trade unions in the sector and, given the changing political situation in the UK, we argue this is ultimately based on legitimacy-seeking.     

Globalization,Labor and the ‘Polanyi Problem’

As a consequence of the global economic crises of the 1970s, in Australia, micro-economic reform of the economy, and in particular the labour market, was seen as a key catalyst in providing a more competitive industrial base for the country. Underpinning this was a fundamental change in the conflictual industrial relations structure that had framed work patterns and practices since Federation. The Williamstown Naval Dockyard in Melbourne was the Australian Federal Government's premier dockyard. It had a long-standing reputation for poor productivity, inefficient work practices and industrial unrest and had been described as Australia's worst worksite. After several failed attempts to reform the dockyard, the Federal Government privatised this utility as a catalyst to reform the work culture. On 1 January 1988, the dockyard was transferred to the highly competitive private shipbuilding sector. As the first public utility sold by an Australian Federal Government and the first workplace to adopt micro-economic labour reforms, including enterprise bargaining, the dockyard provides an opportunity to examine the nature of workplace restructuring in the most radical time of change for labour and trade unions in Australia's history. The dockyard was seen at the time as at the vanguard of this change. This paper explores the reforms undertaken in the dockyard.     

Labor union membership and voting across nations

Despite a large literature on voter turnout around the world, our understanding of the role of labor union membership remains muddled. In this paper, we examine the relationship between union membership and voting. Using individual level International Social Science Program (ISSP) data from thirty-two countries, we find that union members are more likely to vote and that the substantive effect rivals that of other common predictors of voting. This relationship is also largely invariant across an array of demographic factors, indicating that unions tend to be “equal opportunity mobilizers.” We also find that unions have “spillover” effects: controlling for a variety of other factors, even non-union members are more likely to turn out to vote in countries with higher union densities. In sum, we find that labor unions have a consistent political influence across a wide set of countries.     

要切实加强工会劳动保护监督检查工作——认真学习江泽民同志关于安全生产的重要批示

针对我国安全生产形势严峻 ,重、特大事故多发 ,江泽民同志对安全生产作了重要批示 ,各地深入开展安全生产大检查 ,扭转安全生产被动局面。工会作为工人阶级群众组织 ,要加强和改进劳动保护监督检查工作 ,积极为实现安全生产形势根本好转作贡献。     

试论工会行使权利的法律保障

修改后的工会法增强了对工会组织、职工群众、工会干部权利保护的力度 ,这对于保护工人阶级的利益 ,最终确立工人阶级在国家政治、经济和社会关系中的主人翁地位 ,落实党的全心全意依靠工人阶级的根本指导方针具有重大现实意义。     

工匠培育：我国地方工会弘扬工匠精神的创新之道

近年来，我国许多地方工会都在积极开展培育工匠的活动，为国家的发展战略提供了大量的技 能型人才，培育工匠的“中国工会模式”正在逐步形成。为了进一步做好工匠培育，地方工会应该做好如下工作： 与相关部门建立协同机制，构建“双通道”培育机制，加强对工匠的全方位激励制度的宣传。     

认真学习贯彻十六大精神努力开创高校工会工作新局面

"三个代表"重要思想是做好高校工会工作的指导思想。实践"三个代表",要求高校工会必须结合高校工作实际,依法创造性地开展工作。工会干部必须善于学习,不断提高自身素质。     

"顺治民富、和静民乐"--对瑞典、丹麦产业工会的考察与思考

瑞典和丹麦两国都具有组织严密、运作有序的工会组织网络和强大的产业工会体系,并建立了政党、工会与资方相互依存、相互制约的有效机制,特别是通过集体谈判,有效地维护了雇员的利益,值得我们借鉴.