Workers' commitment to new labour institutions: Comparing union members in east and west Germany

This article compares the attitudes of east and west German workers to their union and works council. The author's research in the clothing and textile industry examines to what extent union members in east Germany have individualistic or collectivist attitudes towards the newly established institutions of interest representation and whether these differ from those of their west German colleagues. The conclusion is that overall the east Germans display collectivist attitudes which do not differ significantly from those in the west.