Corporate restructuring has been a socio-economic reality for at least three decades. Since the 2008-2009 crisis, its pace has accelerated and pushed workers’ representatives to contest, accept, or influence how such restructuring takes shape.

This form of union mobilization is not without contradictions, especially in terms of its functions amongst workers’ representatives. This paper analyzes these strategies through an international comparison of four local unions in two different national contexts (France and Canada). We argue that research on strategies must extend beyond a focus on national institutional contexts and towards union power “to”, referring to actor capabilities to engage in action. Three types of mobilization are identified: ‘opposition’, ‘cooperation’, and ‘inventivity’.

The contribution of this article is, at the same time, to underline the importance of trade union power, but to question it in the long term, the emergency strategies following the announcement of restructuring taking various directions. Despite the fact that a long-term analysis of union power relativizes our results, this power remains crucial at a time where institutions are transforming.

Keywords: corporate restructuring, trade unions, comparative analysis, institutions, multinational corporations, social power.