From Jan 2007 New Labor Forum
Small Numbers, Big Power: The Paradox of the French Labor Movement
By Hélène Bouneaud
1995, 2003 and 2006: in the space of ten years, France experienced three major
mass movements. How could a trade union movement—decried by most media outlets
as “archaic”, at best, and, at worst, dead—rise from its own ashes, arouse trust in
millions of people, rekindle nationwide industrial action that had been on the decline
since the mid-seventies, and achieve results that would reaffirm the value of collective
action? How does a divided trade union movement with low membership have the ability
to lead action—including strike action—that brings the country to a halt? How does it
manage to mobilize millions of people to take part in demonstrations and mass
meetings, which is surely an indicator of support for the trade union movement and its
actions? How did a trade union movement attached to the principle of separation
between trade union action and party politics manage to make labor and social issues a
determining factor in politics in the midst of a crisis of political representation, even
sending governing parties to electoral defeat on three occasions?
For nearly a decade, the General Confederation of Labor (Confédération Générale du
Travail, or CGT), the oldest and most influential trade union federation, has been
examining the causes of the crisis that hit the French trade union movement in the
seventies, especially its own organisation, and looking at ways to overcome this crisis.
Indeed, in the course of the past thirty years, it has lost two-thirds of its membership
across all unions, despite a very slight recovery in the last few years, falling from over
two million members in the seventies to a little over 700,000 today. In the seventies, 20
to 25 percent of workers were trade union members; in 2003, that figure barely reached
8.3 percent. This phenomenon is not exclusive to France; all European countries have
been affected—but in France, the fall in numbers took place earlier and more suddenly.
Another dimension of the crisis is related to the fact that industry—which was at the
origins of the creation of the trade union movement and of major social progress—is
today a minor source of union membership. In the CGT, public sector unions constitute
the vast majority of members; more precisely, four of its affiliated unions (railway
workers, energy workers, post and telecommunications workers, and arsenal workers)
make up approximately one-third of its total membership, although public sector workers
account for only 5 percent of the working population. Apart from this imbalance in
representation, and the rather marginal existence of the union in expanding sectors of
activity, there are other shortcomings: the insufficient membership of women, although
75 percent of them are employed, and the fact that the under-thirties continue not to join
a union. The fear, for the CGT and the other French trade union organisations is that the
ageing of members and activists—the latter being mainly baby-boomers close to
retirement age—may cause another massive loss in membership in the coming years,
as well as the ability to pass on trade union knowledge, thus weakening the generational
link between workers and unions. Surprisingly enough, the public has a good image—
and increasingly more so—of the French trade union movement. Every year for the last
thirteen years—a sufficient time span to measure changes in public opinion—the CGT
has polled on the public on their views of the trade union movement in general and the
CGT in particular. In 1993, 36 percent of those polled had a favourable opinion, rising to
52 percent in 2002. Better still, a poll carried out in 2003—in the middle of the conflict
with the government on the future of pension schemes—revealed that French people
trusted unions more than they did the Prime Minister on that issue! Other polls have
shown that unions are given more credit than political parties or churches. Significantly,
their image is even better among young people, although they are less involved than
their elders in trade union life. With regard to the CGT, successive polls show that it is
seen as the union that defends workers best. Its fighting spirit and resilience are readily
acknowledged. However, this positive assessment, a sign of undeniable expectations of
the trade union movement, should be viewed against the reluctance to become involved
in union life. However, as recent industrial movements have shown, this is not the case
when it comes to participating in protests, or actions (strikes).
1.The crisis of political representation is seen in the increasing level of abstentions in all elections,
by the protest votes either in favor of the extreme right or the radical left (i.e. the three Trotskyist
parties, which declare that they have no intention whatsoever to take part in a government); the
efforts developed by leading Left and Right parties to attract the so-called center; and mainly, in
the referendum on the European constitutional treaty last year in which the voters clearly
disavowed the opinions of the leading parties.
Color Blind: The French Labor Movement’s Occupational Disability
By Mark Kesselman
Helen Bouneaud’s article provides a solid overview of the current state of the French
labor movement. It laudably refuses to adopt a triumphalist tone that all is right with
French unions, and candidly acknowledges that the labor movement suffers from some
major weaknesses. But, contrary to many accounts that proclaim the death of the labor
movement, it also rightly highlights that French trade unions have more power than is
evident if one confines attention to the dismally low rate of union density. My
commentary will extend Bouneaud’s analysis of these opposite tendencies.
Two factors underpin union strength. First, a point that Bouneaud does not develop:
unions possess considerable institutionalized resources. They are represented on the
governing boards of many public sector and para-public social funds, such as health and
pension funds. Shop stewards are legally entitled to released time from work, and
companies must provide unions with facilities on company grounds. The comités
d’enterprise (CE), which unions dominate, possess great resources, especially in the
large firms. In large firms, CEs are gigantic enterprises in their own right, with hundreds
of employees. Firms are legally obligated to allot a portion of the wage bill to the treasury
of the comités d’enterprise. The CEs direct health and safety committees, run the
company canteen, organize leisure activities (providing the firm’s employees with free or
reduced tickets to plays, concerts, and sports events), and manage summer colonies for
members. Unions enjoy a substantial boost in legitimacy and, indirectly, considerable
financial resources thanks to their command of the CEs.