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Adoption of the Organising Model in British Trade Unions: Some Evidence from Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF)

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  • Bob Carter

    (Management Centre Department of Economics University of Leicester University Road LEICESTER LE1 7RH)

Abstract

There is increasing evidence of a widespread recognition within the British trade union movement of the need to change. Amongst the directions of change being considered is adoption of the `organising model' borrowed from the United States. MSF was probably the first major British union to go down this path, thereby promising to transform itself from an organisation that had pioneered the conservative `servicing model' to one in the forefront of promoting a radical alternative. This transformation is far from unproblematic and this article examines the tensions and difficulties encountered through a study of NHS membership organisation two regions. In the process of the examination, the article highlights the inadequacies of approaches to union decline that either regard it as an inevitable result of objective circumstances or believe that new policies to counter decline can be adopted by managerial fiat and without recourse to widespread discussion among members to build a consensus.

Suggested Citation

  • Bob Carter, 2000. "Adoption of the Organising Model in British Trade Unions: Some Evidence from Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF)," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 14(1), pages 117-136, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:14:y:2000:i:1:p:117-136
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170022118293
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edmund Heery & Patricia Fosh, 1990. "Introduction: Whose Union? Power and Bureaucracy in the Labour Movement," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Patricia Fosh & Edmund Heery (ed.), Trade Unions and their Members, chapter 1, pages 1-28, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Steve Williams, 1997. "The Nature of Some Recent Trade Union Modernization Policies in the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 495-514, December.
    3. Caroline Lloyd, 1997. "Decentralization in the NHS: Prospects for Workplace Unionism," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 427-446, September.
    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.
    5. Michael Rose, 1993. "Trade Unions - Ruin, Retreat, or Rally?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 7(2), pages 291-311, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Jeremy Waddington & Allan Kerr, 2015. "Joining UNISON: does the reform of a union organising strategy change how members perceive their recruitment?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 187-207, May.
    3. Christina Cregan & Timothy Bartram & Pauline Stanton, 2009. "Union Organizing as a Mobilizing Strategy: The Impact of Social Identity and Transformational Leadership on the Collectivism of Union Members," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(4), pages 701-722, December.
    4. Melanie Simms, 2013. "Special Issue. Edited by: Gregor Murray, Christian Lévesque, Christian Dufour and Adelheid Hege," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 373-388, July.

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