When Neoliberalism Confronts the Moral Economy of Workers: The Final Spring of Turkish Labor Unions

The 1980s transformed the social and economic outlook of Turkey. This transformation led by the Motherland Party is comparable to the wider global trend of neoliberal transformation. The structural changes necessitated or triggered by this transformation attacked existing modes of social and political relationships, including the moral economy of Turkish unionized workers. The reaction against this assault created a cycle of protest led by the organized labor spanning from the end of 1986 to the fall of 1991. This protest movement contributed to the electoral defeats suffered by the Motherland Party in 1989 and in 1991. This movement emerged despite repressive legal measures still in force after the military intervention of 1980, and constitutes the last massive showing by the trade unions. This paper analyzes the specifics of the development and the retreat of this social movement