Union Voices: Tactics and Tensions in UK Organizing
Melanie Simms, Jane Holgate, and Edmund Heery
Abstract
This book evaluates how labor unions fared in the political and institutional context created by Great Britain's New Labour government, which was in power from 1997 to 2010. The book presents a multilevel analysis of what organizing means in the UK, how it emerged, and what its impact has been. Although the supportive legislation of the New Labour government led to considerable optimism in the late 1990s about the prospects for renewal, the book argues that despite considerable evidence of investment, new practices, and innovation, UK unions have largely failed to see any significant change in ... More
This book evaluates how labor unions fared in the political and institutional context created by Great Britain's New Labour government, which was in power from 1997 to 2010. The book presents a multilevel analysis of what organizing means in the UK, how it emerged, and what its impact has been. Although the supportive legislation of the New Labour government led to considerable optimism in the late 1990s about the prospects for renewal, the book argues that despite considerable evidence of investment, new practices, and innovation, UK unions have largely failed to see any significant change in their membership and influence. The book argues that this is because of the wider context within which organizing activity takes place and also reflects the fundamental tensions within these initiatives. Even without evidence of any significant growth in labor influence across UK society more broadly, organizing campaigns have given many of the participants an opportunity to grow and flourish. The book presents their experiences and uses them to show how their personal commitment to organizing and trade unionism can sometimes be undermined by the tensions and tactics used during campaigns.
Keywords:
labor unions,
New Labour government,
Great Britain,
labor influence,
trade unionism
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2012 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780801451201 |
| Published to Cornell Scholarship Online: August 2016 |
DOI:10.7591/cornell/9780801451201.001.0001 |
