Work representation and union representativeness on the frontier of wage earning: the case of direct distribution of printed matter

Abstract

?Is the reform of union representativeness a solution to the problem of union institutionalization? The article addresses this question, which has been raised by those who participated in the reform as well as by labour specialists. Through the study of the newly built branch [branche professionnelle, an industry-wide collective bargaining unit] of the direct distribution of printed material, it is shown that the reform cannot solve a problem which is incorrectly formulated. Union institutionalization is, indeed, a contradictory process, which separates workers and their representatives just as much as it links them together. This precision leads us to study the impact of the reform of union representativeness in a more nuanced way. The mobilization of the rules of representativeness in the two firms under study shows that the reform has ambivalent effects in terms of unionization. The new regime of representativeness does not guarantee any tighter control by workers over their representatives. However, it reinforces the interdependence between the respective arenas of the professional branch and the firm which are now connected through the electoral process.?

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