Challenging the trade union agenda: migrants’ interest representation and German trade unions in Hamburg in the 1970s and 1980s

ABSTRACT

In the 1970s and 1980s, important transitions took place in Germany in both migration and labor market policies. The so-called recruitment of ‘guest-workers’ came to an end, and the patterns of cross-border movement changed significantly – and with them the ways unions as well as migrant organizations articulated their political claims. Taking these aspects into account, I examine union strategies concerning migrant workers’ interests. I discuss how migration challenged and changed the agenda of local trade unions in terms of content and processes. This paper puts forth the hypothesis that local trade union organizations could react to such challenges by broadening or narrowing their agenda. I draw on material gained from empirical research on trade unions and migrant organizations in Hamburg. Analyzing insights from qualitative interviews and primary sources, I discuss trade union activities regarding the inclusion of migrants, collective bargaining, and labor market policies, as well as migrants’ access to social and political rights. I also present initiatives against racism both within and outside of trade unions.

KEYWORDS:

• Labor migration
• trade unions
• migrant organizations
• racism

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the unionists and activists interviewed for this project as well as my co-researchers Lisa Riedner, Sabine Hess and Helen Schwenken. I would also like to thank the anonymous referees as well as the editor of this journal for insightful remarks.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Quoted Interviews

Interview with Hüseyin Yilmaz, Hamburg, 7 September 2017

Interview with Holger Mahler, Hamburg, 9 May 2018.

Interview with Janko Stancovic, Hamburg, 10 July 2018.

Interview with Nikola Cvrkalj, Hamburg, February 5,2018.

Interview with Mülayim Hüseyin, Hamburg, 9 October 2017.

Interview with Resul Önal, Hamburg, 22 October 2018.

Notes

1. Trade union unity (Einheitsgewerkschaft) (Hyman, 2001; Wagner, 2017) presupposes that there is one union per sector, unified under a powerful umbrella organization, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

2. Unions stated that their strategies were incompatible with those of radical leftist organizations and therefore rejected alliances with those.

3. Until now, little historical research has been conducted on trade union renewal in the 1980s and 1990s in Germany.

4. In terms of numbers, it is important to understand that neither the stop to recruitment nor the incentives for return migration led to a reduction of the number of foreigners in Germany. On the contrary, while in 1983 there were around 4.5 million foreigners living in Germany, this number would exceed 7 million by 1995 (Herbert, 2001, p. 233).

5. Some of those institutionalized structures of interest representation of migrant workers within trade unions that date back to the 1970s and ’80s still exist today, but are framed within a broader shift from the organization of workers ‘as migrants’ towards programs directed at ‘vulnerable’ workers, of which migrants constitute the majority (Wagner, 2017, p. 171). Such projects include counseling for undocumented and migrant workers, such as in MigrAR, a Hamburg-based counseling service for undocumented workers, or local desks of projects such as ‘Faire Mobilität’ and ‘Faire Integration’ that work to orient and advise intra-European migrants and refugees regarding their rights at work.

6. A group called the ‘Active Metal Workers’ (Aktive Metaller) had emerged out of discontent with the employer-friendly politics of the IG Metall works council. A second contentious issue was the way lists for works council elections were composed: While the Active Metal Workers favored the election of direct candidates, the trade union opted for a ranked list. The group therefore set up their own list of candidates in the elections for the works council in 1981, and immediately obtained a majority. Although the climate between the trade union and the dissident works council group was quite hostile, practical cooperation took place during the occupation.

7. While works councils represent workers’ interests within the plant, IG Metall also forms groups of unionized activists at the plant level, the ‘shop stewards’ (Vertrauensleute).

8. Another noteworthy change occurred in the 1980s: The topic of asylum came up and required a different view on migration (Kühne, 2000, p. 50 et seq.). But since asylum seekers’ access to formal employment was strongly restricted, they did not appear as (potential) labor market actors. Their situation was therefore not seen as an issue for trade unions. Only in the 1990s and 2000s did trade unions establish counseling services for undocumented workers, such as MigrAR in Hamburg.

9. In the meantime, the voting rights for EU citizens in municipal elections was granted at the federal level. But this does not entail the right to vote for all migrants.

Additional information

Funding

This article is based on results from a research project entitled ‘Interest Representation – Cooperation – Conflict: On the Relation between Migrant Organizations and Trade Unions in Western Germany (1970s and 1980s)’, funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation between 2017 and 2019.

Notes on contributors

Anne Lisa Carstensen

Dr. Anne Lisa Carstensen is a sociologist and works at IMIS (Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies). Her research interests are: Labor studies, trade unions and social movements, postcolonial and critical theory, discourse analysis, global production networks.