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Why Are Some Union Organizing Campaigns More Successful Than Others?

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  • Vidu Badigannavar
  • John Kelly

Abstract

This paper reports a study of two union organizing campaigns in the higher education sector. Using mobilization theory, we tried to explore why one campaign was more successful than the other as measured by membership growth and recruitment of activists. We found that in the more successful campaign, the union was perceived as more effective in voicing workers’ concerns, generated greater social cohesion and union identification amongst employees, was more successful in convincing employees that the university management was to blame for their problems and promoted amongst employees a stronger sense of union instrumentality.

Suggested Citation

  • Vidu Badigannavar & John Kelly, 2005. "Why Are Some Union Organizing Campaigns More Successful Than Others?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 515-535, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:43:y:2005:i:3:p:515-535
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00367.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ian Kessler & Paul Heron, 2001. "Steward Organization in a Professional Union: The Case of The Royal College of Nursing," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(3), pages 367-391, September.
    2. Rafael Gomez & Morley Gunderson & Noah Meltz, 2002. "Comparing Youth and Adult Desire for Unionization in Canada," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 40(3), pages 542-519, September.
    3. Andy Charlwood, 2002. "Why Do Non–union Employees Want to Unionize? Evidence from Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 40(3), pages 463-491, September.
    4. Melvina Metochi, 2002. "The Influence of Leadership and Member Attitudes in Understanding the Nature of Union Participation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 40(1), pages 87-111, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Blyton & Jean Jenkins, 2013. "Mobilizing Protest: Insights from Two Factory Closures," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 733-753, December.
    2. Melanie Simms, 2015. "Accounting for Greenfield Union Organizing Outcomes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 397-422, September.
    3. Mathew Johnson & Jill Rubery & Matthew Egan, 2021. "Raising the bar? The impact of the UNISON ethical care campaign in UK domiciliary care," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(3), pages 367-382, August.
    4. 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.
    5. Caroline Murphy & Thomas Turner, 2014. "Organising non-standard workers: union recruitment in the Irish care sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 373-388, September.
    6. 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.
    7. John F. Geary, 2022. "Securing collective representation in non‐union European multinational companies: The case of Ryanair pilots’ (partial) success," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(3), pages 635-661, September.
    8. Christopher Gordon Smith & Tingting Zhang & Lorenzo Frangi & Linda Duxbury, 2023. "Would you like to become a union leader? Analysing leadership intentions through a generational lens," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 425-444, November.
    9. Philip James & Joanna Karmowska, 2016. "British union renewal: does salvation really lie beyond the workplace?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 102-116, March.
    10. Li, Weihao & Lamare, J. Ryan & Bruno, Robert, 2022. "Does union canvassing affect voter turnout under conditions of political constraint? Empirical evidence from Illinois," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125306, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Michelle O'Sullivan & Thomas Turner, 2013. "Facilitators and Inhibitors of Collective Action: A Case Study of a US-Owned Manufacturing Plant," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 689-708, December.
    12. Güneş Ertan & Michael D. Siciliano & Erin C. McGrath & Molly McGrath, 2021. "Social Networks and Strike Participation: A Dynamic Analysis of the Hollywood Writers Strike," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1108-1130, December.

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