HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONISM IN LATE 1970ʼS ROMANIA: THE CASE OF SLOMR
HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONISM IN LATE 1970ʼS ROMANIA: THE CASE OF SLOMR

Summary/Abstract: In the context of the Cold War, Helsinki Accords brought new resources for disenchanted Eastern European citizens in formulating their endeavors. Although a failed project, the analysis of SLOMR case is a necessary element in understanding the reasons behind the scarcity of Romanian workers actions under the Communist regime. Drawing from a diversified array of archival documents, reports and memoirs of those involved in the initiative, the current paper analyzes how human rights discourses sought to be appropriated and instrumentalized in matters concerning labor relations in state-socialist Romania. By incorporating the transnational connections and the international actors of the period, this paper brings a new perspective on the way in which Romanian workers addressed their grievances, while simultaneously highlighting the opportunities and the limitations of the human rights discourses in the 1970’s.

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