240105 VO+UE VM1 / VM2 - Scaling up? Transnational labor organizing in globalized production (2022W)

Neoliberal globalisation has led to globally interconnected production structures and the spread of global value chains and production networks. Globalised production not only influences how firms, producers and regions are integrated in the global economy and related economic development prospects, but also wages, working conditions and labour rights as well as workers’ power and struggles. This VO+UE deals with the topic of labour organising in the context of globalised production, primarily via the study and discussion of contributions of the recent special issue of the Austrian Journal of Development Studies (Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, JEP) on “Scaling Up? Transnational Labour Organising in Globalised Production”.

Drawing on chain and network approaches to studying the global economy and how they have been expanded by other perspectives from economic and labour geography, labour sociology, feminism and global history and the field of (global) labour studies, the special issue analysis workers’ power, struggles and organising efforts at different scales in the context of globalised production. The issue advances conceptual debates and provides empirical insights into the complexity of the politics of scale in organising efforts. Case studies cover different sectors and world regions from apparel and footwear in Asia, cotton in West Africa and minerals in South Africa to delivery platforms in South America. The contributions go beyond trade unions, looking at different union and non-union actors and how they work together at the transnational level. They analyse power relations, structures and practices that enable or hinder (transnational) labour organising.

The first part of the VO+UE focuses on getting an overview of the literatures on transnational organising particularly from a global value chain and production network perspective as well as a labour studies perspective. It argues for the importance of combining these perspectives for understanding possibilities and challenges of (transnational) labour organising in globalised production.

The second part focuses on reading and discussing the individual contributions of the special issue with the lecturer and most of the authors of the articles who will join per zoom to present and discuss their articles.

See here an overview of the special issue edited by Karin Fischer, Signe Moe and Cornelia Staritz: https://mattersburgerkreis.at/site/de/publikationen/jep/alleausgabenartikel/article/562.html