1st Edition

The Development of Trade Unionism in Great Britain and Germany, 1880-1914

Edited By Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Hans-Gerhard Husung Copyright 1985

    This stimulating collection of essays by distinguished British, American, Australian and German scholars, originally published in 1985, offers a picture of the upsurge of New Unionism and the growth of old unions, and looks at the severe setbacks which occurred in the labour movements of Britain and Germany between the 1880s and the First World War. Labour history is seen from a European perspective and special emphasis is placed on the role of the state in Britain and Germany in its desire to contain and suppress trade union activity by law or force. Insights are provided into the political allegiances of the unions and their members to the parties of the working class and the state.

    Part 1: The New Unionism in a European Context 1. The 'New Unionism' Reconsidered Eric J. Hobsbawm 2. The New Unionism in Britain: its Economic Background Sidney Pollard Part 2: Strike Movements in Europe: A Comparative Analysis 3. Strikes and the Struggle for Union Organization: Britain and Europe James E. Cronin 4. International Strike Waves: A Criotical Assessment Friedhelm Boll 5. The Significance of the Great Dock Strike of 1889 in British Labour History John Lovell 6. The Rank-and-File Movements and the Trade Unions in the Hamburg Docks from 1896-7 Michael Grüttner Part 3: Industrial Modernization, Politics and Trade Union Organization  7. The New Unionism and the Labour Process Richard Price 8. The Division of Labour and Politics in Britain, 1880-1920 Alastair Reid 9. New Unionism for Old? The Amalgamated Society of Engineers in Britain: The Railway Industry Philip S. Bagwell 11. Conflict and Organization  in the Early History of the German Trade Union Movement Klaus Tenfelde 12. Localism - Craft Union - Industrial Union: Organizational Patterns in German Trade Unionism Klaus Schönhoven Part 4: Syndicalism, Christian Unionism and 'Free' Labour 13. Syndicalism and Localism in the German Trade Union Movement Dirk H. Müller 14. Mass Organization and Militancy in Britain: Contrasts and Continuities Richard Hyman 15. Revolutionary Syndicalism and the British Labour Movement Robert J. Holton 16. The Christian Trade Unions and Strike Activity Michael Schneider  17. The National Free Labour Assocation: Working-Class Opposition to New Unionism in Britain Geoffrey Alderman Part 5: Trade Unions, Employers and the State 18. The British State, the Business Community and the Trade Unions John Saville 19. Industrial Structure, Employer Strategy and the Diffusion of Job Control in Britain, 1880-1920 Jonathan Zeitlin 20. Repression or Integration? The State, Trade Unions and Industrial Disputes in Imperial Germany Klaus Saul Part 6: Trade Unions and the Political Labour Movement 21. Trade Unions and the Labour Party in Britain Jay M. Winter 22. The Free Trade Unions and Social Democracy in Imperial Germany Hans Mommsen

    Biography

    Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Hans-Gerhard Husung