IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v39y2025i2p380-403.html

Old Habits Die Hard? The Role of Trade Union Identity and Framing Processes in Shaping Strategy

Author

Listed:
  • Genevieve Coderre-LaPalme

Abstract

This article investigates whether differences in trade union identity can explain local and national variations in union strategy. To do so, it compares the divergent responses of unions to healthcare privatisation initiatives across six cases in England and France. It brings together the often disparate literatures on union identity, strategy and mobilisation and presents a new conceptual model to explicate these differences by linking a union’s identity to union strategy via two core framing processes: diagnostic framing and prognostic framing. Findings reveal that unions respond differently to healthcare privatisation initiatives, irrespective of the local and national context. Union identity influenced how they framed the threats and opportunities around them, shaping their expectations in terms of effective action. Union identity not only explains divergent responses but is also responsible for path dependencies which would make it potentially more difficult for unions to overcome structural constraints and learn from other groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Genevieve Coderre-LaPalme, 2025. "Old Habits Die Hard? The Role of Trade Union Identity and Framing Processes in Shaping Strategy," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(2), pages 380-403, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:39:y:2025:i:2:p:380-403
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170241255039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170241255039
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09500170241255039?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. Arianna Tassinari & Jimmy Donaghey & Manuela Galetto, 2022. "Puzzling choices in hard times: Union ideologies of social concertation in the Great Recession," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 109-134, January.
    2. Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2010. "The legitimacy of collective actors and trade union renewal," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 351-367, August.
    3. Krachler, Nick & Greer, Ian, 2015. "When does marketisation lead to privatisation? Profit-making in English health services after the 2012 Health and Social Care Act," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 215-223.
    4. Valeria Pulignano & Paul Stewart, 2012. "The management of change. Local union responses to company-level restructuring in France and Ireland – a study between and within countries," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 18(4), pages 411-427, November.
    5. Richard Hyman, 2007. "How can trade unions act strategically?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 13(2), pages 193-210, May.
    6. Böhm, Katharina & Schmid, Achim & Götze, Ralf & Landwehr, Claudia & Rothgang, Heinz, 2013. "Five types of OECD healthcare systems: Empirical results of a deductive classification," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 258-269.
    7. Hyman, Richard, 2007. "How can trade unions act strategically?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 39803, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Ian Greer & Thorsten Schulten & Nils Böhlke, 2013. "How Does Market Making Affect Industrial Relations? Evidence from Eight German Hospitals," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 215-239, June.
    9. Richard M. Locke & Kathleen Thelen, 1995. "Apples and Oranges Revisited: Contextualized Comparisons and the Study of Comparative Labor Politics," Politics & Society, , vol. 23(3), pages 337-367, September.
    10. Andrea Signoretti, 2019. "Explaining variation in the social performance of lean production: a comparative case study of the role played by workplace unions' framing of the system and institutions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 126-149, 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. Genevieve Coderre-LaPalme & Ian Greer & Lisa Schulte, 2023. "Welfare, Work and the Conditions of Social Solidarity: British Campaigns to Defend Healthcare and Social Security," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(2), pages 352-372, April.
    2. Holly Smith, 2022. "The ‘indie unions’ and the UK labour movement: Towards a community of practice," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1369-1390, August.
    3. Gregor Murray, 2017. "Union renewal: what can we learn from three decades of research?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(1), pages 9-29, February.
    4. 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.
    5. Lorenzo Frangi & Muhammad Umar Boodoo & Robert Hebdon, 2022. "Demobilised or dormant? Exploring pro-strike attitudes among employees who have never joined a strike," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1236-1259, August.
    6. Alvaro S Almeida, 2016. "The Role Of Private Non-Profit Healthcare Organizations In Nhs Systems: Implications For The Portuguese Hospital Devolution Program," FEP Working Papers 577, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    7. Jane Holgate, 2021. "Trade unions in the community: Building broad spaces of solidarity," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(2), pages 226-247, May.
    8. Michele Ford & Michael Gillan, 2022. "Understanding global union repertoires of action," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 559-577, November.
    9. Dean Stroud, 2012. "Organizing training for union renewal: A case study analysis of the European Union steel industry," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 33(2), pages 225-244, May.
    10. Jane Holgate, 2018. "The Sydney Alliance: A broad-based community organising potential for trade union transformation?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 39(2), pages 312-331, May.
    11. Mathieu Dupuis, 2020. "How do local unions strategize against multinational corporations’ restructuring threats? Some insights from France," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 41(1), pages 55-72, February.
    12. Bradon Ellem, 2014. "A battle between titans? Rio Tinto and union recognition in Australia’s iron ore industry," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 35(1), pages 185-200, February.
    13. Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2010. "The legitimacy of collective actors and trade union renewal," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 351-367, August.
    14. 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.
    15. Tom Hunt & Heather Connolly, 2023. "Covid‐19 and the work of trade unions: Adaptation, transition and renewal," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 150-166, March.
    16. Melanie Simms, 2024. "The dynamics shaping experiences and prospects of employer coordination in a Liberal Market Economy: The case of Scotland," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(3), pages 606-628, August.
    17. Ioulia Bessa & Andy Hodder & John Kelly, 2025. "Why Do So Many People Not Vote? Correlates of Participation in Trade Union Strike Ballots," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(2), pages 290-310, April.
    18. Alex Pazaitis & Vasilis Kostakis & Michel Bauwens, 2017. "Digital economy and the rise of open cooperativism: the case of the Enspiral Network," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 177-192, May.
    19. Krachler, Nick & Greer, Ian, 2015. "When does marketisation lead to privatisation? Profit-making in English health services after the 2012 Health and Social Care Act," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 215-223.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:sae:woemps:v:39:y:2025:i:2:p:380-403. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    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.