地方工會既不具有社會動員力量,也不具有行政權力。因此,地方工會只能一方面在組織結構層面,以正式的、制度化的方式向地方政府及相關部門"借力",并對之進行整合,形成"合力";另一方面在個體行動層面以非正式的、非制度化的方式來協調與借力部門的關系,進而維系和利用這種"合力"來履行其職能。在此過程中,權力、利益、情感和倫理等因素被糅合在一起,看似相互矛盾的公益與私利、正式與非正式、制度化與非制度化因素卻彼此相輔相成。地方工會的這種運作機制直接取決于地方政府對多方利益的權衡,并有其內在的局限性,再加上地方工會與企業工會的有機聯系不足,使得這種運作機制在基層實施的效果被弱化了。

Local trade unions possess neither the power for social mobilization,nor administrative power.Therefore,they have to reply on other sources of power.At the organizational level,they borrow power from the local government and its departments.On an individual basis,they informally coordinate and interact with these departments.During this process,power,interests,sentiments,and ethics are so entangled that multiple paradoxes can be observed.Whether the mechanism of power borrowing by the local trade unions can function well depends on the ability of the local government to balance different players of the game.Internal limitations of the unions and the fact that the connection between the local trade unions and corporate trade unions is rather loose also weaken the effect of this mechanism of power borrowing.