ABSTRACT
Labor’s world has been subject to constant upheaval since the Industrial Revolution. As mass labor forces were created in capitalist economies, and as labor forces politicized and mobilized, periods of political accommodation, particularly between the 1930s and 1970s, seemed to provide a degree of political stability and legitimacy for labor and its organizations. But, even then, the emergent labor movements of the developing world faced the upheavals of colonization and postcolonial development. Since the 1970s, labor has confronted the twin challenges of globalization and neoliberalism, which have substantially undermined established political accommodations, whilst introducing new challenges as a result of integrated global production systems. In the early twenty-first century, the institutional and political challenges confronting labor are as grave as at any other time in modern history. Nevertheless, labor activism, coupled with political concerns at national and international levels, has placed issues such as the promotion and regulation of labor standards at the heart of contemporary global governance and in the forefront of debate around the social costs of globalization. Labor standards are an important issue in the agendas of international organizations, and in the boardrooms of global companies. As a result, public opinion and interest mobilization around labor standards have become critical considerations in global governance arrangements.1
