Deep links exist between NGOs and trade unions. Many NGOs were established by unions and the two groups still work together in powerful coalitions and joint campaigns. But while the NGO sector has expanded rapidly in recent decades, the union movement has declined. The diversity between NGOs makes the movement impossible to pigeon hole, except that "it represents civil society's most visible response to globalization." The author states that unions must draw from NGOs' example and become the new civil society alternative.