Power to the Workers? Labor Struggles and Representation in a Post-Corporatist Era Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of “DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY” by Jonathan Preminger Submitted to the Senate of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 9 December 2014 Beer Sheva Power to the Workers? Labor Struggles and Representation in a Post-Corporatist Era Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of “DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY” by Jonathan Preminger Submitted to the Senate of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Approved by the advisor: Prof. Uri Ram Approved by the Dean of the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies: 9 December 2014 Beer Sheva This work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Uri Ram In the Department of Sociology and Anthropology Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Student’s Affidavit when Submitting the Doctoral Thesis for Judgment I, Jonathan Preminger, whose signature appears below, hereby declare that: I have written this Thesis by myself, except for the help and guidance offered by my Thesis Advisor. The scientific materials included in this Thesis are products of my own research, culled from the period during which I was a research student. Date: 9 December 2014 Student’s name: Jonathan Preminger Signature: i Acknowledgements During the course of my research I have become convinced that the cooperative nature of academic work is insufficiently acknowledged. Whether by a casual observation during a chance conversation in the street, or through heated debate in more formal academic frameworks, numerous people have contributed to my work, nudged my musings in new directions, provided crucial information, and – no less significant – pointed out errors and discrepancies in my logic. Most prominent among them all is Prof. Uri Ram, who supervised the entire process from initial thoughts to finished dissertation. His laconic observations and uncompromising approach kept me on the right path, while his breadth of knowledge and depth of comprehension were a constant inspiration and a reminder of committed academic work at its best. With his understanding of the pressures felt by a budding researcher, his assistance and guidance in my general training as an aspiring academic, and his constant support and encouragement through rough times as well as smooth, he was crucial to the completion of this long journey and it was truly a pleasure and an honor to be his student. Prof. Yoav Peled, perhaps unbeknownst to him, was also a source of inspiration. It was with him that I first began to take an academic interest in the political economy, and he assisted in more concrete ways during informal conversations and requests for advice. I must also mention Prof. Michael Shalev and Prof. Guy Mundlak whose informal suggestions were extremely helpful and whose stimulating, comprehensive works on labor in Israel’s political economy were quite literally at my side throughout my research. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the many people who spoke to me whether informally or within the formal structure of an interview. I was repeatedly amazed by their willingness to give of their time and knowledge, and many made considerable effort to assist in additional ways, introducing me to other people or obtaining documents they thought would help my understanding. Of these, I would like to mention my friends at WAC, who also provided inspiration of a different kind, particularly Roni Ben Efrat, Orit Soudri and Steve Langfur. ii Thanks are also due to all at the Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology and the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies for the study grants that enabled this research to be carried out, and for the travel grants that enabled me to attend various conferences where my general understanding of the field was further broadened. The department provided an inspiring environment for research, and I was lucky to receive the support and encouragement of faculty members and staff. In this context I would like to mention especially Dr. Nitza Berkowitz, Prof. Daniel Maman, Dr. Julia Lerner, Irit Samurai, Limor Chalifa and Dafna Shahar, as well as Prof. Dani Filc at the Dept. of Politics and Government. In particular, thanks are due to all participants at the fortnightly workshops for PhD students in the Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology and in the Dept. of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University, who read and commented on various drafts of various chapters and broadened my academic understanding through heated discussion. Similarly, I received very pertinent comments from participants at the Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology seminar, in particular Dr. Sara Helman. Staff members at Ben-Gurion University’s Aranne Library and Tel Aviv University’s law and social science libraries were invaluable during my search for material and for a peaceful corner to gather my thoughts; I am very grateful for their assistance and kindness. I would also like to mention Yeela Lahav-Raz, Yael Ben David, Noa Leuchter, Oleg Komlik and Dr. Rafi Grosglik, fellow travelers on the doctoral road, who assisted on occasions too numerous to list, and Dr. Benedikte Zitouni, who has long been my spiritual guide to intellectual, academic and literary life. Finally, but most importantly, my deepest gratitude and love to Eynav, who has weathered the storms with remarkable fortitude, supported me through navigational uncertainties, and rejoiced with me during the sunlit passages. iii To Ophir, who will inherit the world we’re shaping today… iv Contents Page Acknowledgements i Abstract viii Foreword xvii Chapter 1 – Introduction: An inquiry into labor in Israel in the 21st century 1.0 Background and research questions 1 1.1 Three “spheres” of activity 9 1.2 Methodology 14 1.3 The structure of this dissertation 17 Chapter 2 – Theoretical framework: Corporatism and beyond 2.0 Introduction to Chapter 2 23 2.1 The rise and decline of corporatism 24 2.1.1 The rise of corporatism 24 2.1.2 The centrality of unions and their democratic role 30 2.1.3 The decline of corporatism and the weakening of organized labor 35 2.1.4 The concerns of neocorporatist research 38 Chapter 3 – Historical framework: Neocorporatism in Israel 3.1 The rise of organized Jewish labor: nationalist corporatism 46 3.2 The decline of nationalist corporatism 49 3.3 Research into Israeli corporatism and organized labor today 54 Chapter 4: Renegotiating union democracy 4.0 Introduction to Chapter 4 60 4.1 A failure of representation: the social workers’ campaign 61 4.2 Rejecting the Histadrut: Israel Railways and Haifa Chemicals 65 4.2.1 Israel Railways: transfer to rival union thwarted 65 v 4.2.2 Haifa Chemicals: transfer to rival union succeeds 67 4.3 Revolt in the ranks: the doctors’ campaign 68 4.4 Campaigning on behalf of others: subcontracted cleaners 71 4.5 Discussion 73 4.5.1 Opposition and participation 73 4.5.2 Union democracy and socioeconomic policies 91 Chapter 5: Renegotiating the role of the Histadrut 5.0 Introduction to Chapter 5 100 5.1 Continued dominance of the Histadrut 101 5.1.1 Strength through links with the establishment 101 5.1.2 Court support for Histadrut hegemony 107 5.1.3 “To fight big dogs you need a serious dog” 110 5.1.4 Signs of change in the Histadrut? 114 5.2 Conclusion: renegotiating a democratic workers’ identity 120 Chapter 6: Renegotiating the labor-capital balance of power 6.0 Introduction to Chapter 6 128 6.1 Pelephone and employer efforts to prevent unionization 134 6.2 The “big committees” and the delegitimization of organized labor 141 6.3 Undermining the labor courts 147 6.4 Liberalization, the balance of rights, and third party interests 150 6.5 Differentiating “the public” from “the workers” 154 6.6 Discussion 159 6.7 Conclusion to Chapter 6 167 Chapter 7: Renegotiating the political status of labor 7.0 Introduction to Chapter 7 173 7.1 The decline of the union-party link and the rise of NGOs 174 7.1.1 The unraveling of labor’s centrality in the political sphere 174 7.1.2 WAC: the NGO life of a union 178 vi 7.1.3 Kav Laoved: the NGO-ization of workers’ rights 182 7.2 NGOs and the changing nature of representation 184 7.2.1 Experts in the field 184 7.2.2 Individualization, juridification and instability 190 7.2.3 The decline of the mass party 193 7.3 Severing the political community from the labor force 196 Chapter 8: Renegotiating the nation’s boundaries: Between national community and class solidarity 8.0 Introduction to Chapter 8 198 8.1 Arab citizens, Palestinians and the labor market 199 8.1.1 Developing the borders of the political and economic community 199 8.1.2 Israel’s Arab citizens after 1948: structures of separation and inclusion 201 8.1.3 1967 and the Palestinians: economic incorporation, political inclusion 203 8.1.4 Oslo: the “dividends of peace” 206 8.2 Porous labor market, insular political community 212 8.2.1 Expanding the reach of labor legislation 212 8.2.2 Maintaining the borders of the (Jewish) political community 214 8.2.3 East Jerusalem Palestinians: the epitome of politically-excluded labor 221 8.3 The implications of the NGO-ization of labor representation 223 8.4 Conclusion to Chapters 7 and 8 229 Chapter 9 – Conclusion: Renegotiating labor’s position in a post-corporatist era 9.0 Conclusion 231 9.1 Overview of previous chapters 232 9.2 Discussion 237 9.3 To conclude 245 Bibliography 247 List of interviewees 271 Abstract in Hebrew I vii List of figures Figure 1: The inverted triangular model of post-Fordism 3 Figure 2: The three research “spheres” overlaid on the standard corporatist triangle 13 viii Abstract Introduction and research questions This study investigates the public status of organized labor and labor organizations in Israel following the weakening of neocorporatism (the Labor Movement regime) and the increasing hegemony of the neoliberal capitalist approach to the formation of sociopolitical policies, from the 1980s onwards.