Du lib-labism à la grande fièvre ouvrière (1880-1914) : les trade unions entre libéralisme, travaillisme et action directe

Abstract

This contribution explores the links between the two facets of the profound mutations in trade unionism between the late 1870s and the Great War. Their base and fighting methods were radically transformed, as the elitist and exclusive trade unionism of the years 1850-1870, mainly connected with political Liberalism, gave way to a more militant ‘new unionism’, partly open to unskilled workers and led by the younger Socialist generation. This process was completed with the 1910-1914 Great Labour Unrest which saw the advent of mass unionism. At the same time, the relations between trade unions and parliamentary politics were redefined, with an increased awareness of the necessity of independent labour representation, leading to the formation of the Labour Party. The stages of this double progress towards democratic unions are retraced here.