노동조합 공론장의 특성과 변동: 작업장수준의 공론장 유형들을 중심으로

This paper analyses the characteristics and changes of the labor union public spheres in workplace level. The public sphere means a network for communication by the peoples who are interested in the public issues and a social space for the common opinion which is achieved by means of critical discussions. Labor union public spheres are spaces which the collective experiences of workers are organized for class solidarity. Also Labor union public spheres are contested terrains which organized labor has to struggle against a dominant discourse for ideological hegemony Labor union public spheres have some different forms such as Subordinate, Competitive, and Defiant form according to the forms of factory regime and the power of labor unions. Immediately after 1987, the labor unions had some characteristics of Counter-Public Spheres of working class. However, after the economic crisis of 1997, labor union public spheres have declined rapidly. Labor unions have become closed interest groups, not open public spheres. Critical discussions and educational activities in labor unions have weakened. In many cases, labor unions have had a tendency to represent a generalized private interests of union members.