Unions and politics: why unions are not just the economic wing of the labour movement

The “apolitical” economic laws of supply and demand do not really work in the labour market. Instead, employment relations are first and foremost shaped by power relations between capital, labour and the state. Unions can, therefore, hardly afford to abandon the political terrain. This chapter first explains why politics plays such a central role in employment relations in capitalist societies, and then outlines the merits and limitations of the various political action repertoires of unions (private interest government, lobbying, protest action, corporatist political exchanges, alliances with sister parties, direct democratic citizens’ initiatives and referendums).