Neo-Liberalism, NAFTA, and the State of the North American Labour Movements

Abstract

The consolidation of neo-liberalism since the 1980s has presented several challenges to unions in North America. Through the restructuring of the state and the promotion of globalization, neo-liberalism has made the terrain of struggle more daunting for unions. Changes in the organization of work are also implicated in the common threats to organized labour and workers more generally. These common pressures on labour in Canada, the United States and Mexico, however, have resulted in different outcomes for the three movements. Many have suggested that these common pressures should be met with an increased emphasis on transnational labour cooperation. It is argued here it is possible to build international solidarity without first building union capacities at the level of the local plant and at the level of the nation state.