Institutional Changes in the Montréal Aerospace Cluster:

This paper examines the evolution of trade unions role in the development of the aerospace industry in the Montreal agglomeration. Over a thirty years period trade unions have played a leading role in the consolidation of this industry and the creation of various governance mechanisms. Greater integration into the global economy and the restructuring of the value chain have substantially modified the dynamic within the cluster and force trade unions to engage in new domains and fields to influence policies in relation to work and employment. On top of regulating work and employment issues at the workplace level, trade unions have been involved in the creation of a network of institutions to upgrade skills at the sectorial level, in initiative to increase small and medium enterprises capabilities and in the safeguard of jobs and firms through the participation of the “Fonds de Solidarité”, the financial arm of one of the major trade union federation in Québec.

Drawing on interviews conducted with a variety of actors (workplace and industrial union representatives, managers, government officers, etc.), the paper highlights how trade unions take on and combine new roles. This process requires the transformation of and relationships within trade unions, the construction of alliances with new actors and the development of new capabilities and resources to cope with the challenges of this global industry. In order to play a leading role in policy development and implementation at the subnational level, trade unions need to build new narratives that bridge the multiple interests at play.

The involvement of trade unions in new fields, such as finance, and the construction of new alliances is provoking tensions that put into question the normative, regulative and cognitive pillars on which trade unions have traditionally rely on to build their power.