German Trade Unions and Right Extremism: Understanding Membership Attitudes

Abstract

Right-wing populism and extremism present challenges for trade unions throughout Europe. This article reports findings from a representative survey and group interviews with union members in Germany. Far right attitudes are neither more nor less widespread among union members as a whole than in the population at large, but there are considerable differences within the membership. In particular, skilled workers as well as middle managers who are union members are significantly more inclined to extremist attitudes than non-unionists. The article discusses these results and presents several conclusions regarding future trade union policy.