Editorial
Abstract
EDITORIAL This issue of TRANSFER is devoted to labour relations in the United States (US), with specific emphasis on the activities of trade unions within the regulatory regime established in the US, and on the nature of reform at present underway within the labour movement. Recent debate in Europe has focused on the nature of the regulatory regime under construction within the European Union. At its most straightforward this debate revolves around the central question of whether the regulatory regime of the European Union involves the importation of characteristics of the American model or whether it is an amalgam of features of the regulatory regimes of the different member states. This issue of TRANSFER sets out to explore this question by identifying the key characteristics of the US model and assessing the scope of activity available to US trade unions. The issue begins with an introductory article by Jeremy Waddington which provides historical and analytical background designed to make the subsequent articles more ‘accessible’ for the European reader. The two initial articles by Lawrence Mishel and by Paula Voos and Haejin Kim review developments within the US economy, placing particular emphasis on the shifts in the labour market,