The 'thunder game' of unions and political parties: who is closest to whom?

BarcelonaThe relationship between left-wing parties and the major unions is as old as the labor movement. The first leader of the UGT, Pablo Iglesias, was also a member of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), just as the CCOO (Spanish Workers' Party) was founded by militants of the Communist Party (and, in Catalonia, of the PSUC). Since the Transition, these relations have fluctuated until they consolidated a stable framework of collaboration within the institutions. But despite political sympathies, externally, the unions assert their independence and pressure the parties to adopt their agendas. For example, shorter working hours, higher wages, and guaranteed affordable housing. Now, who is closer to whom on the political and union scene in post-Process Catalonia?

The PSC (Spanish Workers' Party) claims to be in "permanent conversation" with CCOO and UGT, the two most representative unions in Catalonia, although the relationship is closer with the latter, also for historical reasons. Socialist sources maintain that the relationship was not strained even when both unions championed the right to self-determination and the release of political prisoners (when the PSC opposed the amnesty). However, this harmony did not translate into an appointment at the highest level when the Socialists took office in the Generalitat: the Ministry of Business and Labor. It is occupied by the former Convergent Miquel Sàmper, with a profile closer to the employers' association.

To undergovernment, trade unionism had better luck. The general secretary of Labour is in the hands of former MP Pol Gibert, close to the UGT, and the general director of labor relations is the former head of Trade Union Policy for the organization itself, Núria Gilgado. The closeness of the UGT to the candidacy of President Salvador Illa in the last elections was made evident with the inclusion of its president, Matías Carnero, in the final position on the list, who was at the center of the controversy against former President Carles Puigdemont, asserting that he had "left crying in the trunk and who knows if he'll step on it." Already in Palau, and in a nod to CCOO, the government of Salvador Illa placed trade unionist Ricard Bellera at the head of the newly created General Directorate of Social Dialogue.

ERC, three-way

But, under the leadership of Pepe Álvarez, UGT has wanted to be the big house of the left and transcend the socialist acronyms. Proof of this is the leadership tandem in Catalonia: while Carnero ran on the PSC lists, the general secretary, Camil Ros, was the leader of the ERC youth wing. The ranks of the UGT have also given ERC two Labor ministers in recent years, Dolors Bassa and Chakir El Homrani.

How are the Republicans positioned now? Esquerra made changes to its union branch a little over a year ago. Historically, representatives of the UGT and CCOO shared the presidency of the four-year term, two for each union. However, last time this pact was broken, and CCOO shared the top two positions in the branch with the Intersindical in an agreement to which the UGT was not a party. The melon will be reopened in a few weeks, because the branch branches must be renewed after the congress. The debate it has faced in recent years is proof that Esquerra lacks a leading union. In fact, there are members within the party affiliated with UGT, CCOO, and Intersindical. –reports Mireia Esteve. In any case, leadership sources emphasize that Oriol Junqueras is determined to strengthen the party's relationship with the labor world and that, for this reason, for the first time in the history of ERC, a deputy secretary for this matter has been created, to be held by Laura Pelay, who is linked to the UGT.

The visit to Waterloo

The Intersindical is precisely the union that has been trying to make a dent in the pro-independence movement, claiming to be the only one "of national obedience" and participating in mobilizations such as the Diada. They are also close to Junts—its leader, Sergi Perelló, has visited former President Carles Puigdemont in Waterloo on more than one occasion—although the leadership emphasizes that they also maintain relations with the UGT and CCOO (which are especially good, they add, with Ros). These relations could become strained if Junts does not endorse the reduction of the working day that the Spanish government wants to approve, as requested. Álvarez and Ros in Puigdemont when they went to see him The House of the Republic. In fact, the council members' goal now is to restore, above all, the ties with the business and employers' associations that the former CiU had., a purpose that makes it easier for them to be key in the Congress of Deputies.

The CUP also maintains ties with the Intersindical, although it aligns itself more with the alternative unionism represented by the Mesa Sindical (which also includes COS, the union of the Independent Left, and Solidaridad Obrera). There is a lot of double militancy with the CGT, which is anarchist in nature, as well as with the teaching unions and the Renters' Union, party sources admit.

The Comunes, allied with the CCOO.

The other major Catalan union, CCOO de Catalunya, has a strong ally in the Comuns (Communists). Several leaders come from the CCOO, and its most visible face is now the party's spokesperson in Congress, Aina Vidal. "We have a long-standing relationship with the CCOO, but we also work with other unions such as UGT and CGT," say sources from Els Comuns, who emphasize that, like ERC, they have a specific sectoral group on the world of work. They also have another on social movements and organizations, through which they have sought affinity with the Sindicat de Llogateres (Landowners' Union) and, recently, with Unió de Pagesos (Farmers' Union).

On the other hand, within the Spanish right, relations with traditional class-based unions are nonexistent. Sources from the Catalan PP confirm that they have no connection whatsoever, while Vox limits its contacts to its own union, Solidaridad, another branch of the far-right party.

Why is this one? game of thunder?

But if these similarities exist, why don't unions take a more clear stand in favor of the political parties? The answer is provided by Javier Astudillo, a PhD in political science and professor at UPF (University of Valencia), who wrote his doctoral thesis on the relationship between the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and the UGT (Union of Workers' Unions). Since the last century, European trade unionism understood that, by entering the electoral battle, it had "very little to gain and much to lose." First, because this forced unions to compete instead of choosing to negotiate together for workers' rights with those in power. And second, because if a rival party won, they would lose negotiating power with the new tenant in the institutions.

The expert also points to the lesson that Catalan trade unionism learned, in this case, from the Basque Country, where since the 1990s the unions with the greatest weight are the nationalist ones. ELA, linked to the PNV, and LAB, linked to Bildu. When the Intersindical began to gain strength during the Process, CCOO and UGT had to move on the national issue to avoid leaving a vacant position that, Astudillo points out, this union could have occupied.