More than Members: Market Revitalization in the Building Trades

Abstract

For decades sociologists have been interested in the labor movement’s attempts to rebound. Most research, however, focuses on revitalization within the service industry, ignoring important efforts in other sectors, like construction. As recent scholars argue, revitalization within the building trades is unique because organizing workers is not the same as organizing work. Locals must simultaneously increase membership and market capacity. Unfortunately, existing theories ignore many obstacles that building trade unions face in market expansion efforts. These obstacles include macro-economic conditions, like the Great Recession, which limit work opportunities; inter-union competition which allows one Local to expand market share by poaching work from another; and cost differentials which continue to prevent unions from breaking into new markets. Relying on the case of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 58, these obstacles are explored and used to reformulate current theories on revitalization and market recovery within the building trades.