Organizing employees in Central Eastern Europe: The approach of Solidarność

Despite severe membership losses after the transformation of 1989, trade unions in Central Eastern Europe were slow to develop methods to recruit new members. This article examines how Solidarność in Poland has adopted American organizing approaches, and analyses how an emerging group of young trade union organizers and activists changed the self-understanding of the union. The article ends with a comparative discussion of the conditions which may promote the development of organizing activities in Central Eastern Europe.