Thomas Collombat

This project compares labour movements in Québec, France, and the Basque Country to examine how trade unions shape the spaces in which they operate. Grounded in critical political economy and labour geography, it conceptualizes union territories as relational spaces contested by labour, capital, and the state. Unions are class agents whose role extends beyond workplace representation, stabilizing capitalism while resisting its injustices.

The project has three components. The first compares regional union structures ("unions locales" in France, "conseils régionaux" and "conseils centraux" in Québec) as sites of solidarity and political engagement. The second analyzes unions in minority nations, where the FTQ, CSN, ELA, and LAB have distanced themselves from central-state federations to construct distinct labour territories. The third examines shifts in bargaining centralization, exploring how unions navigate institutional change to assert their territorial presence.