The effects of Union mergers and Internal Restructuring: A bottom-up perspective by Danish shop stewards

By Steen E. Navrbjerg & Trine P. Larsen

Trade union mergers and restructuring is often seen as strategy for union revitalisation and renewal and have been ongoing in a majority of European trade unions. This paper offers a new perspective on recent union mergers and internal restructuring by exploring the effects of such structural reforms through the lenses of shop stewards. In doing so, the paper examines and compares the shop-steward union relations in terms of union’s service provision, union democracy and interest representation within merged and non-merged unions. The paper  draws on longitudinal data from two Danish shop steward surveys conducted in 1998 and 2010 – each year representing a distinct stage in the unions restructuring and recent merger history. The main results are that although it could be expected that union mergers and internal restructuring may entail lower service levels, democratic deficit and weakening of union identities, this is not always the case. Danish shop stewards appear more satisfied with their union’s service provision anno 2010 compared to 1998 and a higher proportion of shop stewards also feel more able to influence union politics. However, variations also exist, where union size and less so the union’s recent merger and restructuring history appears to affect shop stewards’ relations with their unions in terms of lower service levels, less contact, fewer possibilities for influencing union politics and weaker interest representation.