Die Dekade der Herausforderungen: Deutsche Gewerkschaften zwischen europäischer Integration und nationalstaatlicher Reorganisation in den 1990er Jahren

Abstract

During the 1990s, mainly two processes challenged German trade unions: The German unification process at the national level on the one hand and the accelerated dynamics of integration at the European level on the other. While the unions were able to develop adequate organisational and functional strategies for coping with the national unification, they can be regarded as latecomers within the European integration process, which developed a new dynamic at the beginning of the 1990s. This dynamic was fostered by the legal framework for the development of a social dimension and the single market – in fact crucial questions for the unions. However, the German unions’ reactions were rather sceptical and reluctant while they had to concentrate their attention on the German unification process at the same time. According to these developments the article deals with the question how far German trade union’s resources were occupied by the German unification process and to what extent this circumstance constricted their engagement towards the European level.