Unions, technologies of coordination, and the changing contours of globally distributed power

Abstract

This article explores the emergence and significance of new technologies of coordination for globally distributed social movements attempting to shape the power relationship between themselves and the forces of international business. It challenges the entrenched perspective that global markets are constructed and dominated by global capital and the idea that attempts to regulate for decent work and economic justice are futile. It argues that newly available power resources can be harnessed to promote the globalization of labor movements and overcome barriers to international solidarity. It cites case materials from both the developed and the developing world to highlight the dimensions of communication which contribute towards the initiation of new processes of political challenge and material advancement. The article concludes with a brief discussion of some of the dilemmas posed by labor globalization for labor itself.

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