IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/brjirl/v63y2025i2p233-246.html

What If You Mobilize Effectively and Still Do Not Win? Reclaiming a Relational Understanding of Strike Outcomes and Employer Power Resources

Author

Listed:
  • John Kallas

Abstract

In this study, the author draws on a comparison of two strikes by US healthcare workers to examine power resources and strike effectiveness. Unions mobilized a range of power resources in each case yet achieved different outcomes. The author argues that variation in bargaining power, particularly employer power resources, rather than union strategy, explains divergent strike outcomes. The author advances a relational understanding of power resources by explaining how employer resources and strategies shape labour's resources and strategies to produce outcomes for workers and their organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • John Kallas, 2025. "What If You Mobilize Effectively and Still Do Not Win? Reclaiming a Relational Understanding of Strike Outcomes and Employer Power Resources," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 63(2), pages 233-246, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:63:y:2025:i:2:p:233-246
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.12845
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12845
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/bjir.12845?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marc-Antonin Hennebert & Marcel Faulkner, 2020. "Are strikes still a tool for union action? A qualitative investigation into the private sector in Quebec, Canada," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 41(1), pages 73-97, February.
    2. Virginia Doellgast & Matthew Bidwell & Alexander J. S. Colvin, 2021. "New Directions in Employment Relations Theory: Understanding Fragmentation, Identity, and Legitimacy," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 555-579, May.
    3. Diego Velásquez Orellana & Domingo Pérez & Sebastián Link, 2022. "What tactical repertoire to use in strikes and when to use it? Strategies of workers and their mobilization power in Chile (2010–2018)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 78-98, March.
    4. Jon Las Heras & Lluis Rodríguez, 2021. "Striking to Renew: Basque Unions’ Organizing Strategies and Use of the Strike‐Fund," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 669-700, September.
    5. John-Paul Ferguson, 2008. "The Eyes of the Needles: A Sequential Model of Union Organizing Drives, 1999–2004," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(1), pages 3-21, October.
    6. Ruth Milkman, 2024. "Power resource theory and the 21st century US labor movement," Stato e mercato, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 39-66.
    7. Christian Lévesque & Gregor Murray, 2010. "Understanding union power: resources and capabilities for renewing union capacity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 333-350, August.
    8. Nick Krachler & Jennie Auffenberg & Luigi Wolf, 2021. "The Role of Organizational Factors in Mobilizing Professionals: Evidence from Nurse Unions in the United States and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 643-668, September.
    9. Laura Carver & Virginia Doellgast, 2021. "Dualism or solidarity? Conditions for union success in regulating precarious work," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(4), pages 367-385, December.
    10. John Kallas & Dongwoo Park & Rachel Aleks, 2023. "Breaking the deadlock: How union and employer tactics affect first contract achievement," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 223-241, May.
    11. 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.
    12. Robert Hickey & Sarosh Kuruvilla & Tashlin Lakhani, 2010. "No Panacea for Success: Member Activism, Organizing and Union Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 53-83, March.
    13. Eric Blanc, 2022. "How Digitized Strategy Impacts Movement Outcomes: Social Media, Mobilizing, and Organizing in the 2018 Teachers’ Strikes," Politics & Society, , vol. 50(3), pages 485-518, September.
    14. Mary Naughton, 2022. "Mobilising societal power: Understanding public support for nursing strikes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 93-109, March.
    15. John Kallas, 2023. "Retooling militancy: Labour revitalization and fixed‐duration strikes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 68-88, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Kallas, 2023. "Retooling militancy: Labour revitalization and fixed‐duration strikes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 68-88, March.
    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. 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.
    4. Lorenzo Frangi & Anthony C Masi & Bénédicte Poirier, 2023. "From Unwoven Societal Relationships to a Broad-Based Movement? Union Power in Societal Networks in Quebec (Canada)," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1377-1394, October.
    5. Michele Ford & Michael Gillan, 2026. "The Global Union Federations and their affiliates: Constrained agency in action," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 47(1), pages 173-195, February.
    6. Sari Madi, 2024. "Power resources, institutional legacy and labour standards transformation: Lessons from two developing countries," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(4), pages 987-1015, November.
    7. Gregor Gall & Jack Fiorito, 2016. "Union effectiveness: In search of the Holy Grail," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 37(1), pages 189-211, February.
    8. Schoonjans, Eline, 2025. "Better safe than sorry? Toxic waste management after union elections," ZEW policy briefs 03/2025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. Gregor Gall & Jack Fiorito, 2012. "Union Commitment and Activism in Britain and the United States: Searching for Synthesis and Synergy for Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 189-213, June.
    10. Yaminette Díaz‐Linhart & Thomas Kochan & Arrow Minster & Dongwoo Park & Duanyi Yang, 2025. "Does Voice Gap Influence Workers’ Job Attitudes and Well‐Being? Measuring Voice as a Dimension of Job Quality," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 63(3), pages 429-444, September.
    11. Caroline Murphy, 2016. "Fear and Leadership in Union Organizing Campaigns," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440156, January.
    12. Carla Lima Aranzaes & Christian Lyhne Ibsen & Philip S. DeOrtentiis & Maite Tapia, 2024. "Solidarity with atypical workers? Survey evidence from the General Motors versus United Auto Workers strike in 2019," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 72-97, March.
    13. Hrvoje Butković & Jan Czarzasty & Adam Mrozowicki, 2023. "Gains and pitfalls of coalitions: Societal resources as sources of trade union power in Croatia and Poland," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(1), pages 43-61, March.
    14. Sara Maric & Elke S. Schuessler & Laura Thäter, 2025. "Neither Employment nor Self‐Employment: Avenues Towards Functional Platform‐Mediated Work Systems," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 63(2), pages 287-304, June.
    15. Bradley R. Weinberg, 2015. "A Quantitative Assessment of the Effect of First Contract Arbitration on Bargaining Relationships," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 449-477, July.
    16. Dinlersoz, Emin & Greenwood, Jeremy & Hyatt, Henry R., 2014. "Who Do Unions Target? Unionization over the Life-Cycle of U.S. Businesses," IZA Discussion Papers 8416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Catharine Ross, 2013. "New unions in the UK : the vanguard or the rearguard of the union movement?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 78-94, January.
    18. Pablo PÉREZ AHUMADA & Gino OCAMPO, 2023. "Labour disputes in contexts of trade union fragmentation and pluralism: An empirical analysis of the case of Chile," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(3), pages 459-480, September.
    19. Henry S. Farber, 2013. "Union Organizing Decisions in a Deteriorating Environment: The Composition of Representation Elections and the Decline in Turnout," Working Papers 577, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    20. Kristin Jesnes, 2023. "Shifting gears: how platform companies maintain power in app-based food delivery in Norway," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(4), pages 507-524, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:63:y:2025:i:2:p:233-246. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.