STUDY The DGB Trade Unions since the Crisis Developments, Challenges, Strategies HEINER DRIBBUSCH AND PETER BIRKE April 2014 n The crisis unleashed new dynamics in the interaction between state, enterprises and trade unions. In the run-up to the Bundestag election in 2009 overlapping interests favoured a new»crisis corporatism« to rein in the consequences of the crisis. For the trade unions employment security was at the top of the agenda. n In spring 2014 it looks as if workers and trade unions in Germany have come through the years of the Great Recession and the ensuing»euro-crisis« comparatively un­scathed. n At the same time, the increase in precarious employment is evident. The debate on regulating temporary work is an example of how the trade unions have reacted to this problem. n In 2013 five of the eight DGB trade unions experienced positive membership growth. Since the mid-2000s the DGB trade unions have come to regard strengthening and expanding their position in companies as their biggest practical challenge. n The DGB plays the important role of coordinator in more large-scale actions sup ­ported by all trade unions, such as the minimum wage campaign. International Trade Union Policy