About this course
How can unions transform to respond to the most pressing issues facing workers and our societies in the 21st century? This course offers an analytical framework to deepen our understanding of how trade unions can transform using their agency and power resources and support union strategies in a changing world of work.
This course is developed by an international team of trade unionists, labour researchers, and academics, coordinated by the Global Trade Union programme, the Trade Union Competence Centre (TUCC) at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in partnership with the Global Labour University.
This course was first launched in 2020.
Key concepts
power resources, trade unions, transformation, organising strategies, collective bargaining
Course structure
Chapter I: Trade Unions in Transformation: Introducing the Power Resources Approach
Chapter II: Explaining the Varieties of Power Resources: Associational, Structural, Institutional and Societal Power
Chapter III: Power Resources in Practice: Capabilities, Gender and Context
Course materials and workload
This course has 3 content chapters, each comprised of several unit. Each unit contain one video lecture, two quiz questions, a reflection question, a key reading as well as additional reading materials. These can all be downloaded and used offline.
The estimated workload for each chapter, including key readings, is around 6 hours.
You can organise a local workshop on the topics of the course combining the course materials with local experts from trade unions, labour research institutes and universities.
If you work for a university, trade union or any other labour-related institution you are welcome to integrate the course material into your education and training programmes. All video lectures and interviews, readings, online resources, and exercises can be downloaded separately and used for free.
Course contributors
Bruno Dobrusin, Trade Union Activist
Dr. Michael Fichter, Senior Lecturer, Global Labour University, Germany
Didice Godinho Delgado, Social Worker and former trade unionist, CUT, Brazil
Mirko Herberg, Coordinator, Global Trade Union Programme, FES, Germany
Sarah Hinz, Researcher, Department of Labour, Industrial and Economic Sociology, University of Jena, Germany
Warren McGregor, GLU-Wits Programme Coordinator
Jacob Omolo, Senior Lecture, Department of Applied Economics, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Marggie Peters, Trade Union Activist
Bastian Schulz, Director, FES Trade Union Competence Centre, South Africa
Arbind Singh, Founder of National Association of Street Vendors of India
Dr Melisa Serrano, Professor, School of Labour and Industrial Relations, University of the Philippines
Dr. Aelim Yun, Research Fellow, Centre for Labour & Welfare Law, Seoul National University, South Korea