L'anticipation syndicale des restructurations d'entreprise : une étude de cas dans le secteur de la fabrication et l'emballage de verre

Over the last few years, market globalization has radically changed business activity and production across the world. Hence forward, firms have turned advantageously to company restructuring in order to remain competitive. Traditionally, company restructuring consisted in job cutback on unprofitable sites, but today various forms coexist such as site closures, relocations, mergers and acquisitions (Rouleau,2000) and (AgirE,2008). Consequently, company restructuring represent an important issue for union action when trade unions are faced to cope with complex multi-dimensional, multi-level and multi-stakeholders processes. Union response to restructuring processes always develops in a context of power asymmetry where temporal and spatial dimensions of company restructuring are driven by employers. Therefore, trade unions respond and adapt their own strategies around this new economic reality. Union anticipation of company restructuring activities appears to be an innovating strategy by allowing unions to alleviate or better still, prevent negative consequences of restructuring activities. The objective of this research is to examine the factors impacting on anticipation of restructuring to determine for unions the conditions associated with a successful approach. To this end, two analysis models have been retained. The first model, Levesque and Murray`s Union Power Resources (2003), describes unions anticipation of restructuring in terms of its capacity of action at the local level. The second analysis model, AgirE (2008), explains the importance of allowing time and space to the union for anticipating company restructuring.   The independent variables of this analysis model are the following: firm characteristics, territorial characteristics and employer`s restructuring strategy.  This research has been undertaken as a case study. It has been carried out on a critical case of union anticipation which took place during years 2004-2005 in a Quebec manufacturing plant. Interviews were conducted with the plant`s union representative, with one former manager and with two important community stakeholders.   Results of our research unequivocally demonstrate that the capacity of action of the local union is a key factor which allowed to explain why a strategic and operational anticipation of internal restructuring was possible in this glass manufacturing and packaging plant. Despite firm characteristics unfavorable to union`s involvement, the local union was successful in establishing its own sphere of action which allowed the firm to avoid a potential medium to long term plant closure.   Territorial characteristics favorable to concerted action among the various stakeholders in the territory where the plant is located have proved to be a critical factor in the union`s anticipation of the plant`s restructuring activity  Key words:   (1)Anticipation, (2) Company restructuring, (3) Globalization, (4) Manufacturing sector,  (5) Quebec, (6) Strategy, (7) Union

Keyphrases: anticipation, Company restructuring, Globalization, Manufacturing sector, Strategy, Union