Contention and Democracy: Labor Protest in Poland, 1989–1993

This article analyzes data on labor protests in Poland during the transition period. A bivariate categorical model was used to estimate the effectiveness of different protest strategies. Analysis shows that strike threats and strikes were effective in gaining concessions from the government or employers in over eighty percent of the events in which these strategies were employed. These findings challenge prevailing notions of a weak labor movement in Poland. The implications of the study of protest for evaluating “the two faces of labor” and for democratic consolidation are explored.