Trade Union Cooperation in the EU: Views Among Swedish Trade Unions and Their Members

Abstract

This article compares views among Swedish trade unions with those of their members regarding cross-national union cooperation in Europe or the EU. Data are derived from two different surveys, one among trade unions in 2010–2011 and the other among employees in 2006. It turns out that trade unions are generally more affirmative than their members to transnational union cooperation. In the employee survey, differences appear between members of the three peak-level organizations—the LO (manual workers), the TCO (white-collar workers), and Saco (professionals). However, controlling for education, these differences cannot be verified statistically. Higher education—which above all Saco members have—is linked to more positive attitudes toward transnational union cooperation. The gap between the organizations and their affiliates concerning engagement in European issues appears to be larger in the LO than in Saco, with the TCO somewhere in the middle.