"The Europeanization of Labor: Structure Before Action"

It is commonplace to assert that social movements give rise to new structures of representation, which may consolidate some of the gains made and then live on after the movements subside. In the worst case, such structures may finally become lifeless, distant from the rank and file, unrepresentative, overly bureaucratic, and even repressive themselves. There is, however, an alternative possibility: that new structures may offer channels within which movements of popular protest can take shape, to grow, expand, and make concrete gains. This paper considers the possibility that such phenomena could take place crossnationally in Europe in the years ahead, with particular reference to the European Trade Union Council and the creation of Euro-Works Councils. The paper concludes that these nascent structures may well play an important role in the future of the European labor movement