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Rethinking Power, Strategy and Renewal: Members and Unions in Crisis

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  • Bradon Ellem
  • Caleb Goods
  • Patricia Todd

Abstract

Why are some unions unable to rebuild membership and bargaining coverage despite significant changes in strategy? We examine the trajectory of a key union in a vital sector, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, calling into question aspects of the union renewal literature. Much scholarship sees members’ associational power as a power resource that can cover the loss of other power resources, but we show that this assumption does not necessarily hold. To explain why members are not necessarily a resource in renewal, we argue that studies of renewal must more fully consider the interplay between different forms of power resources — institutional, structural and societal — and locate union strategies within that dynamic. Critically, this interplay also shapes members’ perceptions of their power, which may further limit a union's options as it responds to external threats.

Suggested Citation

  • Bradon Ellem & Caleb Goods & Patricia Todd, 2020. "Rethinking Power, Strategy and Renewal: Members and Unions in Crisis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(2), pages 424-446, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:58:y:2020:i:2:p:424-446
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.12496
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nienhüser, Werner & Peetz, David & Murray, Georgina & Troup, Carolyn, 2022. "Social media, the internet and the crisis of unionism," Working Paper Forschungsförderung 262, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    2. Grégory Jemine, 2023. "It takes two to tango: Reconceptualizing union power and union effectiveness in a relational perspective," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 445-470, November.
    3. Caleb Goods & Bradon Ellem, 2023. "Employer associations: Climate change, power and politics," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(2), pages 481-503, May.
    4. Pauline Stanton & Timothy Bartram & Greg J. Bamber, 2022. "The role of nurses' unions in workplace innovation in Australian and Canadian hospitals: Analysing union strategies," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 484-500, September.
    5. Nancy D. Ursel & Ligang Zhong, 2022. "Unionization and CEO turnover," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 53-70, January.
    6. Sean O'Brady, 2021. "Fighting precarious work with institutional power: Union inclusion and its limits across spheres of action," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1084-1107, December.
    7. Michele Ford & Michael Gillan, 2021. "Power resources and supranational mechanisms: The global unions and the OECD Guidelines," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(3), pages 307-325, September.
    8. Mary Naughton, 2022. "Mobilising societal power: Understanding public support for nursing strikes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 93-109, March.
    9. Jack Fiorito & Irene Padavic, 2022. "What Do Workers and the Public Want? Unions’ Social Value," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 295-320, March.

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