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Union organising and Full‐time Officers: acquiescence and resistance

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  • Gerry Looker

Abstract

In the mid‐1990s, the TUC relaunched itself with a strategy for renewal labelled ‘new unionism’. The strategy had two strands: partnership with employers and the promotion among affiliate unions of grassroots union organising. The latter, heavily influenced by US and Australian experience, saw possibilities for a more radical trade unionism in the UK. This article draws on a case study of Unison to analyse the organising strand of new unionism. It identifies how top‐down approaches to organising are distorted by union bureaucracy for the priority of recruitment, not only limiting the possibility of emerging union radicalisation but also restricting the ability of trade unions to represent their members. The article also identifies that the position of union Full‐time Officers is complex and not necessarily within a uniform union bureaucracy juxtaposed to and restraining a more radical union rank and file.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerry Looker, 2019. "Union organising and Full‐time Officers: acquiescence and resistance," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5-6), pages 517-531, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:50:y:2019:i:5-6:p:517-531
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12266
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeremy Waddington, 2014. "Trade union membership retention and workplace representation in Europe," Working Papers 12286, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).
    2. Kelly,John & Heery,Edmund, 1994. "Working for the Union," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521383202.
    3. Jeremy Waddington & Allan Kerr, 2009. "Transforming a Trade Union? An Assessment of the Introduction of an Organizing Initiative," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 27-54, March.
    4. Edmund Heery, 1998. "The Relaunch of the Trades Union Congress," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 339-360, September.
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