Uniwersyteckie Czasopisma NaukoweThe voiceless generation: The fight for progressive values within European trade unions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/ibage.2025.44.03Słowa kluczowe:
trade unions, youth, progressive values, EuropeAbstrakt
The study explores how Millennial union officials assess their unions’ engagement with young people. The focus is on unions’ image, agenda, governance, and use of social media. It builds on a qualitative research framework. Semi‑structured qualitative interviews were used as the principal method of inquiry. The results indicate that while there is a growing realisation of the need to broaden union agendas in order to better appeal to young people, only a few unions have actually started to pay attention to progressive causes. Opinions were also divided on whether younger unionists were given a greater say in decision‑making. Likewise, while some interviewees positively assessed their unions’ embrace of social media, others were more critical. The paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between unions and young workers, while at the same time also providing insights into the debate on union revitalisation.
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