Negotiations at the green table are important – but they only work if there are many people behind them. Countervailing power means: We organize ourselves and together enforce what is fair. Right now.
What "trade union countervailing power" means
Trade unions use two levers: creative power (influence, co-determination, negotiations) – and countervailing power (mobilisation, campaigns, labour disputes). The two belong together. Countervailing power is the organization of collective resistance against political and economic impositions that stand in the way of humane working and living conditions. In short: If doors remain closed, we open them together.
From social partnership to countervailing power capability
After 1945, the social partnership provided balance for decades: wages and salaries rose through collective agreements, co-determination in the companies was expanded, and socio-political improvements were implemented. But social and political shifts – not least neoliberal concepts – have put pressure on this culture of consensus. In 2018, for example , 12-hour days and 60-hour weeks were made possible without the real involvement of employee representatives – a signal: without pressure from below, there is little insight at the top.
The fact that parts of the economy see social partnership as a disruptive factor is shown by quotes from the 2010s ("The social partnership is dead. It just doesn't know it yet." former Finance Minister and entrepreneur Hans-Jörg Schelling ÖVP). The trade union movement's answer to this is to negotiate where possible – mobilise where necessary.
Influence Logic vs. Membership Logic
For a long time, trade union power acted primarily as an influence: through strong representations, legal assessments and proven dialogue formats. Where this influence is curtailed, membership power is needed: many members, active works councils, visible participation. Because in the company, a simple logic decides in the end: Without us, production, operation, service will come to a standstill. Or to put it more nicely: Coffee alone does not negotiate a collective agreement.
Achievements that would never have come about without countervailing power
Holidays and social security, 40-hour weeks, collective agreements with fair wages, employee protection, works council law – all results of collective strength. These successes are not a law of nature. They only stay if we defend and develop them together.
In short: Counter-power is not "being against". It is the yes to fair wages, good working conditions and respect – through organized strength.
