Union Renewal Research Articles

Institutions and Strategies: Trends and Obstacles to Recruiting Workers into Trade Unions in Poland

AbstractIn this article, we examine the role of institutional context, organizational structures and trade union strategies in tempering membership decline in the number of trade unions in Poland. Empirical data include membership statistics collected for NSZZ Solidarność and 54 affiliates of two other largest trade union confederations (OPZZ and FZZ) supplemented by semi‐structured interviews with union leaders. In a decentralized collective bargaining system in Poland, a centralized trade union confederation (NSZZ Solidarność) can more easily shift resources to efficiently organize workers than decentralized confederations, OPZZ and FZZ, whose development is mostly driven by competing trade unions representing narrower occupational groups. In conclusion, this observation is put in a broader context of the debates about trade union renewal in Eastern Europe.

Political Congruence and Trade Union Renewal

The concept of political congruence is introduced as predictor or explanatory factor of trade union renewal. Strategic change is more likely to succeed when political congruence exists between the values, expectations and intended outcomes of the three sub-sets of leaders, activists and members in a union. Political congruence (P/c) is defined as convergence of shared political values and vision. For P/c to occur a particular chemistry of independent factors needs to coalesce. The authors note, in particular, that there have been exceptional periods of individual union growth, measured in terms of membership, density and effectiveness. These episodes of exceptional growth need to be studied and understood, if one is to make sense of debates on union ‘renewal’.

Unions and Temporary Help Agency Employment

Temporary help agency employment (THAE) is a peculiar and often precarious employment form that has become increasingly salient in Canada in recent decades. Seeking to advance both the literatures on precarious work and union renewal, this article examines the effects of the expansion of this unique employment form upon labour unions, and union responses to this phenomenon.The study employed a qualitative exploratory method, involving twenty-four interviews with key informants from fourteen large labour unions, two union federations, and the Toronto-based workers’ centre known as the “Workers’ Action Centre.” Various effects of the expansion of THAE on unions were identified and categorized as relating to either union organizing or representation activities, and a range of union responses to the phenomenon are also discussed.Overall, it is suggested that THAE growth carries the potential to constrain organizing and representation activities in multiple ways, although its effects are highly mediated by other contextual factors. Union responses have thus far been largely limited to incremental adjustments aimed at shoring up traditional organizing and collective bargaining practices.

Radical political unionism in France and Britain: A comparative study of SUD-Rail and the RMT

Many recent pessimistic academic assessments of the prospects for the revival of European trade unionism fail adequately to capture evidence of continuing union resilience and combativity in certain areas of employment. An example is the distinctive and relatively successful form of highly militant and politicized trade unionism which has emerged in both the French and British railway sectors over the last 10 years. This has involved the repeated mobilization of members through strike action, combined with vigorous left-wing ideological opposition to both employers and government, as the pathway both to both advancing workers’ interests and to revitalizing union organization. This article provides a comparative analysis of SUD-Rail and the RMT, documenting the dynamics, causes, effectiveness, limits and potential of such ‘radical political unionism’ and considers its implications for debates about union renewal.

Workplace literacy and numeracy learning: An opportunity for trade union renewal in Australia?

This paper first examines the current literacy and numeracy ‘crisis’ in Australian workplaces where loss of productivity, lack of take-up in training, and skills shortages are being blamed on workers’ lack of literacy and numeracy skills. Literacy and numeracy in workplaces are more complex and require alternative understandings of literacy and numeracy as well as the perspectives of workers themselves. Secondly, this paper discusses the opportunity for unions to demonstrate their stake in the education and training of workers. We ask what possibilities are there for this to happen; and what models exist from which Australian trade unions can draw? In the UK the Trade Union Congress (TUC) successfully negotiated with the Labour Government, to establish a Union Learning Fund (ULF) and give recognition to union learning representatives (ULRs), to facilitate learning for workers. The paper considers what new directions Australian unions might explore in the emerging VET policy environment.

The geographies of community‐oriented unionism: scales, targets, sites and domains of union renewal in South Africa and beyond

This article takes the increased interest in union renewal and community politics within the geography discipline as its starting point, and argues that the various cases described in the literature should be understood as socio‐spatial responses to a new geography of work. Encouraged by the literature on contentious politics, I provide a conceptualisation of how workers reconfigure political spaces through community orientation. A concrete case of municipal unionism in Cape Town, South Africa is used to explore these geographies along four dimensions: the scalar strategies of trade unions, their targets for direct action, their sites of recruitment and the domain of mobilisation these campaigns and alliances stake out for themselves. It is argued that community‐oriented unionism tends to entail a reorientation of each of these dimensions. Moreover, union strategies correspond to particular challenges faced in times when local labour markets undergo neoliberal restructuring, such as fragmentation of work and rescaling of labour relations.

Union renewal in France and Hyman’s universal dualism

This paper draws upon the work of Richard Hyman to examine the question of union renewal in France. Developing a discussion around union renewal is particularly significant in the context of France, since studies on French unions since the mid-1980s have centred on the movement’s ‘decline’ and ‘crisis’, and France has rarely been included in comparative studies on union renewal and revitalisation. The paper uses empirical data collected from 2003-2010 to present a case study of SUD-Rail, a breakaway union formed in the French public railway sector in 1996 from an ideological split with one of France’s largest union confederations, the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT). SUD-Rail forms part of a wider set of SUD unions that have emerged since the late-1980s with the stated aim of revitalising French unionism by mobilising new collectivities and energising workplace union structures. This paper analyses the development of this movement over the last fifteen years, its attempts to renew and revitalise collective action and organisation, and explores the wider implications for union renewal in France. The paper argues that the development of SUD-Rail represents evidence of Hyman’s oft-mentioned tension in the identity of unions as both movements and organisations which has wider implications for understanding the possibilities and limitations of union action.

Imagined solidarities: Where is class in union organising?

This paper argues that the ‘turn to organising’ in British unions over the past decade has largely ignored the broader questions of the purpose of such activity. As a consequence, unions have mainly focused on building solidarities between workers in their individual workplaces rather than developing a wider view of workers’ interests and the objectives of that solidarity. Using Hyman’s typology of union identities ( 2001 ), it is evident that ‘class’ identity has largely been sidelined in debates about union renewal in Britain. The paper argues that this limits the scope of union renewal both in practice and in theory.

The militancy of nurses and union renewal

In the last three decades, nurses have gone on strike in many countries including Canada, the UK, the US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Portugal and South Africa. This article has a twofold purpose: first, to highlight oft-hidden patterns of nurse militancy through strike narratives; and second, to consider the contributions of nurse militancy to union renewal. It argues that the militancy of nurses speaks to many of the strategic threads in the union renewal project. It touches upon four themes: women’s militancy, rank-and-file militancy, coalition-building and community outreach, and professionals in the labour movement. In considering the militancy of women, this discussion genders the union renewal debate. At the same time, the article broadens the focus of the women and unions scholarship from issues of representation and leadership, constituency and cross-constituency organizing, and equity policy and bargaining to include workplace militancy. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, des infirmières sont parties en grève dans de nombreux pays, notamment au Canada, au Royaume-Uni, aux États-Unis, en Australie, au Japon, en Nouvelle-Zélande, en Israël, en Irlande, au Danemark, en Suède, en Pologne, au Portugal et en Afrique du Sud. Cet article poursuit un double objectif: tout d’abord, mettre en lumière le comportement souvent ignoré du militantisme des infirmières au travers du récit de grèves; ensuite, examiner la contribution de ce militantisme au renouveau syndical. Il montre que le militantisme des infirmières fait écho à bon nombre des axes stratégiques du projet de renouveau syndical. Il aborde quatre thèmes: le militantisme des femmes; le militantisme de la base; la construction de coalitions et le soutien de la communauté proche; le rôle des professionnels de la santé dans le mouvement des travailleurs. En examinant le militantisme des femmes, il intègre la dimension du genre dans le débat sur le renouveau syndical. Dans le même temps, l’article élargit à la problématique du militantisme sur le lieu de travail l’accent que la recherche sur les femmes et le syndicalisme met généralement sur les questions de représentation et de leadership, d’organisation catégorielle et intercatégorielle, ou de politique et de négociation sur l’égalité. In den letzten drei Jahrzehnten ist es in vielen Ländern zu Streiks von Krankenpflegerinnen gekommen, unter anderem in Kanada, dem Vereinigten Königreich, in den USA, in Australien, Japan, Neuseeland, Israel, Irland, Dänemark, Schweden, Polen, Portugal und in Südafrika. Dieser Beitrag verfolgt zweierlei Ziele: Einerseits soll er anhand von Streikberichten wenig sichtbare Strukturen des Aktivismus bei Krankenpflegerinnen aufdecken. Andererseits befasst er sich mit der Frage, welchen Beitrag dieser Aktivismus zur Erneuerung der Gewerkschaften leisten kann. Hier wird geltend gemacht, dass der Aktivismus von Krankenpflegerinnen viele strategische Schwerpunkte berührt, die Teil des Projekts zur Erneuerung der Gewerkschaften sind, insbesondere vier Themen: Aktivismus von Frauen, Aktivismus der Basis, Bündnisbildung und lokale Einbindung sowie Fachkräfte in der Arbeiterbewegung. Durch die Betrachtung des Aktivismus speziell von Frauen wird der Debatte über die Erneuerung der Gewerkschaften eine geschlechtspezifische Dimension verliehen. Gleich-zeitig wird der Fokus der wissenschaftlichen Literatur über Frauen und Gewerkschaften in Bereichen wie Vertretung und Führung, Organisation von Mitgliedern und gewerkschaftsferneren Personenkreisen sowie Politik und Verhandlungen zur Förderung der Gleichstellung um den Aspekt des Aktivismus am Arbeitsplatz erweitert.

Supportive Legislation, Unsupportive Employers and Collective Bargaining in New Zealand

In New Zealand in the 1990s, labour market decentralization and new employment legislation precipitated a sharp decline in unionism and collective bargaining coverage; trends that continued well into the 2000s even after the introduction of the more supportive Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). The ERA prescribed new bargaining rules, which included a good faith obligation, increased union rights and promoted collective bargaining as the key to building productive employment relationships (Anderson, 2004; May and Walsh, 2002). In this respect the ERA provided scope for increased collective bargaining and union renewal (Harbridge and Thickett, 2003; May, 2003a and 2003b; May and Walsh, 2002). Despite these predictions and the ERA's overall intent, the decline in collective bargaining coverage begun in the 1990s has continued unabated in the private sector. It has naturally been questioned why the ERA has not reversed, or at least halted, this downward trend. So far research has focused on the impact of the legislation itself and much less on employer behaviour and perceptions, or on their contribution to these trends. This article addresses the paucity of employer focused research in New Zealand. The research explores views of employers on the benefi ts of collective bargaining, how decisions to engage or not engage in collective bargaining are made and the factors instrumental to them. It is demonstrated that the preferred method of setting pay and conditions continues to be individual bargaining. This is especially so for organizations with less than 50 employees, by far the largest majority of fi rms in New Zealand. Frequently, these smaller organizations see no perceived benefits from collective bargaining. Overall, these fi ndings suggest that despite a decade of supportive legislation there are few signs that the 20 year decline in collective bargaining coverage in New Zealand will be reversed.

Lay Activism and Activism Intentions in a Faculty Union

Prior conceptual work on union renewal places activism in a central role. Understanding of activism’s antecedents, however, remains limited. This study uses a sample of faculty union members at a large public university, thus providing considerable diversity in work settings within a single employer organization. Using survey and archival data, this study explores the role of selected contextual factors on faculty labor activism. A tentative but interesting finding is that linkages to other activists appear to be a stronger predictor of individual activism than does departmental membership density. That is, it seems that “subcultures of apathy” can exist in even high membership density settings and that social ties to activists may spur members to heightened levels of activism.

Union Renewal, Postheroic Leadership, and Women’s Organizing

This article examines leaders, leadership, and union renewal with a focus on women’s leadership and organizing. First, it considers the links between union renewal and women’s local and informal leadership; and second, the contribution of constituency and cross-constituency organizing to union revitalization. It scrutinizes notions of “heroic” leaders, often implicit in union discourse and practice, which undermine membership mobilization, impede the diversification of leadership demographics and the union renewal project, and contribute to the invisibility of other forms of often-gendered leadership. It explores the alternative paradigm of postheroic leadership and argues that constituency organizing is a form of postheroic practice. In so doing, this article challenges union-renewal paradigms to take more seriously women’s union leadership and constituency organizing as vehicles for revisioning unions, and offers some alternative entry points into the longstanding political debates and scholarship about women and trade union leadership.

Grassroots unionism in the context of economic crisis in Greece

This article draws on empirical evidence from a trade union in the centre of Athens to explore the impact of a politically active membership and its dialectical relationship with union renewal. The examined union is considered as an exemplar for the Greek accounts of unionism in the sense that it has achieved considerable collective bargaining gains and it has organized successful membership mobilization stories. It is argued in the analysis that the success of this union stems from a strategy of making rank-and-file activists the very fabric of union's organizing and mobilization activities. Further, trust issues between leaders, activists and ordinary members are significant in the increase of the likelihood of collective action.

Labor Union Renewal in Argentina

Despite the persecution of labor leaders and activists during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s and the co-optation of the union leadership in the 1990s, in the past few years Argentine labor unions have regained some of the leadership role they lost when they became strategic allies of the government, moderating their wage demands and supporting the government in disputes with other strong social actors. The new landscape created by Néstor Kirchner’s taking office in 2003 provided a favorable context for a revitalization of unions grounded in principles of union democracy. The experience of the subway workers of Buenos Aires, which is paradigmatic for the depth of the changes in internal practices, their persistence over time, and the strong connection between the form of organization and the results achieved, contributes to an understanding of this revitalization. The involvement of members in formulating and implementing policies produces a program more representative of their demands and allows them to acquire experience, skills, knowledge, self-confidence, and a feeling of solidarity that make their organizations stronger for the struggle with capital. Thus union democracy is not an obstacle to but a prerequisite for increasing union power.

Organizing training for union renewal: A case study analysis of the European Union steel industry

The central proposition of this article is that trade union involvement in training is essential to ensure that workers are in a position to adapt readily to changing circumstances and bargain from a strong position. The context in which this proposition is advanced is with reference to the restructuring of the EU steel industry. The argument has two dimensions. First, trade unions need to engage with training and workplace learning in more direct and involved ways than allowed for by current partnership arrangements. This involvement is to protect workers’ interests, promote worker development and to develop jobs as decent jobs. Second, such engagement requires that unions consider their organizational capacities in two respects, within national contexts and across borders. The article employs evidence from ongoing steel industry focused research, which includes observations from the EU Steel Sector Social Dialogue Committee and its steering group on Workforce Development, Recruitment and Retention.

Transnational Labour Solidarity and Social Movement Unionism: Insights from and beyond a Women Workers' Strike in Turkey

AbstractThrough an analysis of solidarity across borders and social groups in connection with and beyond a strike on the part primarily of women workers at a foreign‐owned factory in Turkey's Antalya Free Zone, this article contributes to the debate on the two union renewal strategies of transnational labour solidarity and coalition building with social movements. In the case at hand, the extensive strike‐related support on the part of external unions and the women's movement illustrates the positive difference that solidarity practices can make. However, looking beyond the strike itself, the case points to significant challenges related to the development of deeper and more proactive solidarity across borders and social groups.

Union Commitment and Activism in Britain and the United States: Searching for Synthesis and Synergy for Renewal

AbstractWe propose a fuller synthesis between two relatively disjointed literatures to create synergy. Union commitment research has a long tradition and a relatively rigorous orientation grounded in industrial psychology. Recently, it has been eclipsed by emerging research on union renewal, and specifically that on union organizing. Renewal research has largely ignored union commitment research even though union renewal literature stresses the importance of activism, and this concept is strongly linked to commitment. A critical synthesis of these literatures yields progress in terms of addressing key qualitative and quantitative aspects of the contemporary crisis of labour unionism. A tentative framework is constructed that stipulates the main components and variables, and offers guidance for future research.

Trade union change, development and renewal in emerging economies: the case of Mozambique

Declining membership levels in industrialised and emerging economies have generated debate about the role and potential impact of trade unions and the most appropriate strategies for union renewal. In post-conflict countries within Africa, a re-evaluation of the trade union role is particularly pressing, given the impact of privatisation and restructuring on employment and the large informal sector workforce. Strategies for renewal in advanced economies include the organising model and community unionism, but to what extent are these strategies of value in emerging economies? This article draws on exploratory research in Mozambique to examine union change and development in the context of adversity and the possibilities of, and progress towards, union renewal. Findings reveal some progress on employment rights and engagement with the informal sector. However, future prospects rely on broader economic and institutional changes: improvements in infrastructure; better enforcement of employment legislation; a...

Seizing an opportunity? Union organizing campaigns in Britain, 1998–2004

The Employment Relations Act 1999 seemingly presented UK unions with an opportunity to reverse their long-term decline in membership. This article examines union responses to this change and uses original survey evidence to investigate union organizing campaigns. It explores the targeting, resourcing, objectives, methods and employer responses to union organizing activity in the UK between 1998 and 2004. The evidence indicates a complex pattern, in which experimentation with new methods and organizing to increase the diversity of union membership are balanced by conservatism in the selection of targets and the allocation of only modest resources to the task of union renewal.

Union renewal through cross-border merger: Rationale, processes and challenges

A major challenge for trade unions is how to reposition themselves in order to counter the structural power of transnational capital. Unions seek this repositioning against the background of globalization and a new politico-economic order that is largely engineered by neoliberal nation-states and multinational capital. The agenda for renewal has, however, so far been confined largely within the national state, thus offering little effective challenge to internationally organized employers. This Research Note examines how two unions in the maritime sector, previously organizing in different countries, have sought to break from this tradition by merging to create a single cross-border union. It examines the rationale for, and the processes and challenges involved in, creating the cross-border merger and raises interesting questions for future research.