German trade unions and their works councils are backed against the wall. The days are gone when unions had stable organizational power, when they could negotiate viable compromises between capital and labor as intermediary actors, and when they were broadly present in the world of work. Since the 1990s, unions have been suffering from ongoing declines in membership, collective bargaining standards are eroding due to wage undercutting and decreasing company adherence to collective agreements, among other issues. The authors of this volume shed light on the starting points of current modernization efforts of interest representatives and explore the opportunities for action and renewal perspectives for unions and works councils.