LUMPENPROLETARIAT—When we consider the plight of workers in the global political economy, within the capitalist mode of production, and subject to asymmetric power relations by employers, we recall unionisation and collective bargaining give workers a seat at the negotiating table with employers.  Studies show, unionised workers enjoy better working conditions and less exploitative wages.  And unions with global solidarity enjoy even more benefits of mutual aid.  The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction, as its extended subtitle explains, is a short guide to the global union federations, the ITUC, and other international bodies.  This pocketbook resource, published by LabourStart.org, is a useful introduction to the global labour movement and a handy reference for labour activists, including contact information for all the major global union federations. 

Founding editor of LabourStart, Eric Lee considers:  “One could argue that the global labour movement emerged in 1847 when Marx and Engels famously ended the Communist Manifesto with these sentences:

“‘The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.  They have a world to win.  Workers of the world, unite!’

“Of course, they were not the first to suggest such a thing and they would have acknowledged that the modern labour movement had its origins in many earlier struggles.

“But from 1847 until today, we’ve had a global labour movement in different forms.”

This book, essentially, outlines today’s global labour movement.  Also, most of the global union federation outlines include informative historical background, organisational structure, and campaigning information.

-Messina

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The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction: A short guide to the global union federations, ITUC, and other international bodies edited by Edd Mustill (2013, LabourStart.org)  (99 pp.)

[last updated 5 APR 2015 01:13 CDT]