Transnational Corporations from the Standpoint of Workers

by Nora Räthzel, D. Mulinari, A. Tollefsen

This book follows the history and global expansion of one of the hundred largest corporations in the world, Volvo AB. Once seen as the symbol of innovative work organisation, oriented towards worker participation and satisfaction, neo-liberalisation has transformed the company into a promoter of lean production, at the expense of the workers' needs. The company's strategies in Sweden, Mexico, South Africa, and India are explored through the stories of its workers: women describe their pleasure of learning and their struggles against discrimination in the workplace and in society at large; men and women speak about their pride as producers and their grievances as wageworkers. The workers' voices differ, but their concerns are shared, while their identities as industrial workers transcend national, gender, and generational boundaries as well as the diverse politics of their unions. Nevertheless, they have not yet translated their common experiences into collective, globalised action.

321 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Nora Räthzel is Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Umeå (Sweden). Her main research areas are environmental labour studies, transnational corporations and gender and ethnic relations in the everyday. Publications include: Marxist-Feminists Theories and Struggles Today with Khayaat Fakier and Diana Mulinari (eds.); Transnational Corporations from the Standpoint of Workers with Diana Mulinari and Aina Tollefsen; rade Unions in the Green Economy. Working for the Environment (with David Uzzell, eds.).