Working for the Federation: The Global Labor Movement and Global Union Federation Officials

In the fight for decent work, workers need the support of global union federations (GUFs) to protect and promote their interests. GUF officials are an important resource for the labor movement, and yet we know surprisingly little about these strategic social actors. Drawing from a study of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the authors identify four distinct but interacting roles—activist, bureaucrat, diplomat, and technocrat—that GUF officials exercise, at different times, in different places, with different interactants. As institutional entrepreneurs, GUF officials must engage in collective action framing and mobilize power resources in strategic action fields to advance the effectiveness of GUFs.