Carnets de Géographes (Dec 2023)
Gérer la distance syndicale face à l’« autonomie » des Universités
Abstract
If work as a scientific object begins to be invested by geographers, the spatial dimension of unionism constitutes a “blind spot” of the discipline, despite the fact that some consider union involvement as work, and that trade unionism, by defending the individual and collective interests of employees, constitutes a major actor in professional relations. By beginning to explore the geography of trade unionism in the specific context of the University, the article attempts to analyze the tension inherent in staff representation, caught between management, which has become responsible for the budget and employment since the law on University Freedoms and Responsibilities (LRU), and the agents, undergoing the processes of intensification of activity and weakening of work collectives linked to the new managerial order. From the position of a union-committed researcher, the aim is to show how activists attempt to resist the logic of control and enrolment in employee representative body, but also to demonstrate how it is possible to experiment with modes of organization and collective action capable of (re)creating co-presence with agents in order to develop unity and movement.
