Looking inside the union. The relationship between the organisation and the workers from the analysis of the trade union members

Abstract

This article refers to main changes in industrial system and workplaces and their effect on trade unionism. We take for this purpose the three questions suggested by Hyman (1997): whose interests trade unions represent, which issues they embraces for the task of representation, and what methods and procedures they adopt in understanding this task. These questions are contrasted with an empirical research carried out on the union members of CCOO of Catalonia. The text is structured in three parts. First, we present the main figures on membership related to labour market segmentation, demands and preferences on collective action and on trade union organisation. The second part emphasizes a typology of union members built combining personal features, features related to the occupation and others as union members; this typology is related with unions members’ expectations and preferences, as well as with theirs priorities for union activity. Finally, we conclude contrasting the theory with our results on organisational practices and union members’ attitudes, and we suggest some hypothesis to future researches.