Abstract
Birger was a good friend and a respected colleague. He served in many functions, always committed to the ideals of a strong and vigorous labor movement. Birger was part of the team at the Swedish National Center for Working life (Arbetslivscentrum) which under Professor Bengt Abrahamsson’s leadership established EID in 1980, as a high quality academic journal, open to articles on employee empowerment and active labor market policy. Birger was for more than 10 years responsible for the Current Information section.
Birger Viklund grew up in Ådalen, a historic region in Swedish labor history, the scene of the most violent industrial confrontation in 1931, which resulted in five people being killed by the military. The memory of this episode might have had a formative effect on Birger, who was a dedicated democrat and political reformist.
After studies at Uppsala University he joined the staff of Arne Geijer, legendary president of LO (the Swedish TUC), as international secretary. Birger was the architect of LO’s first program aimed at helping to improve conditions for workers in developing countries. A significant trait of the program was its emphasis on mobilizing the workers’ own initiative and resources.
After leaving LO, Birger was an editorial writer, and subsequently international secretary of the Swedish Metalworkers’ Union followed by the same position in the Nordic Federation of Metalworkers. From 1973 to 1977 he served as labor councilor at the Swedish embassy in Washington. There he befriended ‘everyone worth knowing’ in the US labor movement as well as in academic industrial relations. For many years he contributed to international newsletters as a correspondent, commenting on the new approach to industrial relations which was being established in Sweden, starting with the law on Co-determination, and which culminated with the failed proposal for wage-earner funds.
His international network benefited Arbetslivscentrum tremendously when he became the new institute’s first information director. Birger was initially met with a degree of skepticism by many of his new colleagues at Arbetslivscentrum, who felt that he might have too many strings attached to the labor establishment. However, it soon became clear that not only was Birger a man of high integrity, but also a true intellectual, well read in many fields. As communicator he was strategic, in his approach informal and task-focused. His positive energy was inspiring, And no less important, he respected academic freedom, while aspiring to policy relevance through two-way communication with the world outside. I always enjoyed working with him.
Professor Emeritus of Arbetslivscentrum
Birger was a true internationalist. He was particularly generous with international visitors who he welcomed and introduced to researchers at the Institute with whom they had common interests. Using his vast network, he also put visitors in touch with unions, government officials and employer groups to assist them to gain a deeper understanding of the Swedish system and to facilitate comparative research.
He was very supportive of Swedish participation in the International Labor and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and was actively involved in their activities. I recall him facilitating a symposium in Economic and Industrial Democracy on industrial relations issues in Asia and following up with a joint workshop between the Institute and the Swedish Council on International Relations.
Birger will be warmly remembered by his many friends around the world.