This title was first published in 2001. This detailed study of European trade unions also addresses academic concerns about the continuing relevance of the class concept as an analytical tool. As a social movement, the trade union has always used the class principal to unite and defend workers, and the diverse contributions to this volume enable the more accurate positioning of class discourse within both the debate about trade unions and wider sociological inquiry.

Contents: Introduction: modernization of trade unions and class analysis, Guy van Gyes; The crisis of union representation, Andrew J. Richards; The transformation of social classes: from deproletarianization? to individualization??, Michael Vester; Class identity in contemporary Britain: the demise of collectivism?, Mike Savage; Social segregation in a working-class community: economic and social change in the South Wales coalfield, David Adamson; Labour market dualization and trade union involvement in Spain, Javier G. Polavieja; Union participation in The Netherlands: differences between traditional and new? employees, Sjoerd Goslinga and Bert Klandermans; Models for industrial relations in the private service industries, Maurizio Ambrosini; Urban centredness as a source of variation in middle-class formation: evidence from North London, Tim Butler; Class, collective action and the countryside, Martin Phillips; Building again? trade unions and formalization in the British construction industry, Ian Roberts and Tim Strangleman; For-itself but not in-itself: class and democracy in post-communist Europe, David Ost; Can class still unite?: lessons from the American experience, Sherry Linkon and John Russo; Does class still unite? concluding remarks, Bert Klandermans; Bibliography.