Can cross-border bargaining coordination work? Analytical reflections and evidence from the metal industry in Germany and Austria

TY - JOUR

T1 - Can cross-border bargaining coordination work? Analytical reflections and evidence from the metal industry in Germany and Austria

AU - Traxler, Franz

AU - Brandl, Bernd

AU - Glassner, Vera

AU - Ludvig, Alice

PY - 2008/6

Y1 - 2008/6

N2 - To contain downward pressures on labour standards, Europe's unions have attempted to coordinate their bargaining strategies. Little is known about whether such coordination can actually work. Analytical accounts have deduced its feasibility from national experiences with decentralized forms of coordination, while empirically only anecdotal evidence on its effectiveness is available. This article contributes to the analytical debate by pointing out the different logics of national and transnational bargaining coordination. Empirically, it tests the prospects for cross-border coordination by analyzing how Austrian collective agreements in the metal industry related to their German counterparts from 1969 to 2003. We conclude by discussing the implications for EU-level bargaining coordination.

AB - To contain downward pressures on labour standards, Europe's unions have attempted to coordinate their bargaining strategies. Little is known about whether such coordination can actually work. Analytical accounts have deduced its feasibility from national experiences with decentralized forms of coordination, while empirically only anecdotal evidence on its effectiveness is available. This article contributes to the analytical debate by pointing out the different logics of national and transnational bargaining coordination. Empirically, it tests the prospects for cross-border coordination by analyzing how Austrian collective agreements in the metal industry related to their German counterparts from 1969 to 2003. We conclude by discussing the implications for EU-level bargaining coordination.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=42149117435&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0959680108089192

DO - 10.1177/0959680108089192

M3 - Article

SN - 0959-6801

VL - 14

SP - 217

EP - 237

JO - European journal of industrial relations

JF - European journal of industrial relations

IS - 2

ER -