The Construction of a Strike's Legitimacy: The Role of General Assemblies at the Lyon Train Station

A study of the general assemblies conducted by railworkers at the Lyon train station in Paris, France, focuses on how speakers took the floor & the impact of this on their personal experiences & occupational identifications. The place of the Lyon station among other Paris train stations is d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociologie du travail (Paris) 1997-12, Vol.39 (4), p.499-522
Main Author: Leschi, Didier
Format: Article
Language:fre
Subjects:
France
Labor Movements
Legitimacy
Legitimation
Public Transportation
Railroads
Strikes
Unions
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A study of the general assemblies conducted by railworkers at the Lyon train station in Paris, France, focuses on how speakers took the floor & the impact of this on their personal experiences & occupational identifications. The place of the Lyon station among other Paris train stations is discussed, as are other elements of its history & that of its employees. Personal experience in the railworkers' assemblies is recounted, & the general assemblies are analyzed as places for managing strikes & for allowing the strikers to confront each other. The development of general assemblies is held to correspond to increases in control & participation in other areas of the workforce, & circumstances leading to the railworkers' strike are recalled. The relationship between general assemblies & workers' unions is investigated, & it is demonstrated that, rather than questioning the union's role, the assemblies reinforced labor unionism. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0038-0296