ABSTRACT
This chapter sketches out some analytic principles for the analysis of collective action dynamics at large and tries to situate both unions and actors promoting other causes under a common framework. More specifically, the chapter tries to identify some of the basic mechanisms which may characterize both unions and social movements. Current discussions on the relationship between movements and unions have been hampered by not fully satisfactory conceptualizations of what a social movement is in analytic terms. Drawing upon Diani’s concept of “mode of coordination”, the chapter illustrates the different ways in which labour issues can be acted upon and explores the dilemma between “business unionism”, focussed on the representation of specific trades, and “social movement unionism”, oriented to the building of broader platforms. This also requires moving our focus from single organizations to broader collective action fields.
