Organizing European labour: governance, production, trade unions and the question of scale

This paper addresses two main debates: the recent geographical literature o n trade union strategy and structure, and contemporary accounts of European labour market governance. Geographers have begun to take notice of organiz ed labour just as it has faced a series of unprecedented challenges, which are partly derived from ongoing changes in the organization of production. In interpreting these debates I focus on the process of scaling - the ways in which the politics of labour market governance are constituted in, and a re at the same time constitutive of, one geographical scale or another. The se issues are explored through two key recent developments: the changing st atus of the European Trade Union Confederation, and the creation of Europea n Works Councils. The ETUC and EWCs are particularly significant because th ey pose a challenge to existing arrangements, and potentially enable a re-c onfiguration of the relation between capital and labour at different scales . I conclude that further exploration of European labour geography could re -connect the diversity of forms of organization of production with the scop e and potential of trade union strategy; and that thinking in terms of scal e is useful because it highlights the significance of both political and re lational issues.