Abstract

The crisis of labor unions in post-Communist countries is growing worse. Faced with the leap into capitalism, they seem helpless and defensive. This is true even in Poland, where the new elite and the new system arose out of the activity of a powerful social movement that had the form and structure of a labor union. Despite their union roots, many politicians are calling for further restrictions on the already weak powers of institutions representing working people. It comes as no news that an unprecedented dismantling of the political and economic institutions of really existing socialism is underway in Eastern Europe, replacing them with market and parliamentary-democratic ones. Much less of a commonplace is to draw the obvious conclusion: this unprecedented situation requires innovative, independent strategies.