Closing the market as the only protection? Trade unions and the labor market in the French performing arts industry from 1919 to 1937 - 13/08/10
Abstract |
The case of trade unions in the French performing arts industry between the two World Wars will serve here to test the hypothesis advanced in the Sociology of Professions and Theory of closed Labor Market whereby workers seek to improve their chances by attempting to limit its access. In line with that hypothesis, lyrical and dramatic actors tried to control the market, in particular by making it compulsory to hold a professional license. Contrary to what the theory proclaims, however, musicians’ trade unions sought to control wages and employment by implementing a strategy of maximum receptivity, i.e. by accepting anyone who entered the market. The article shows how those different strategies molded group identities, by tracing the borders of legitimacy and influencing the nature and extent of solidarities that cropped up in the milieu. Beyond the divergent strategies, two contrasting prospects of emancipation emerge from this study: emancipation as professionals for an elitist and exclusive group of actors and opera singers, emancipation as wage-earners for an inclusive, non-elitist group of musicians.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keywords : Labor market, Labor union, Closed shop, Closed market, Entertainment, Show business, Unemployment, Profession, Musician, Actor, France
Plan
Sociologie du Travail. Volume 51, Issue 1, January–March 2009, Pages 1–24. Translation: Gabrielle Varro. |
Vol 52 - N° S1
P. e40-e63 - août 2010 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?