Seizing an opportunity? Union organizing campaigns in Britain, 1998-2004

1. Seizing an opportunity? Union organizing campaigns in Britain, 1998-2004 Edmund Heery & Melanie Simms

2. Objectives • Policy opportunity • Statutory recognition procedure & associated (seemingly) union-friendly public policy • Union response • Greenfield organizing campaigns (no bargaining) • Targets, objectives, resources, methods, messages, issues, employer responses, outcomes • Research • Survey of 140 campaigns from 21 unions • Collection mainly through Organizing Academy • Data not statistically representative • Prior union presence in 50% cases • Most campaigns (87%) on-going at time of survey

3. Targets – table 1 • Scale • Single workplace, several hundred workers in medium-sized organizations • Sector • Disproportionate emphasis on manufacturing • Occupation • Relatively low skilled manual & non-manual workers • Worker characteristics • Women workers – majority in 45% of campaigns

4. Objectives – table 2 • Recruitment • Establishing or growing membership • Organizing • Identifying activists, forming a branch, and encouraging activist recruitment • Recognition • Securing or strengthening a recognition agreement – especially manufacturing • Diversity • Increasing diversity of membership & activism – especially where organizer female

5. Resources – table 3 • Paid staff • More than half have two or fewer • Organizers typically work on more than one project • Activists • Most involve fewer than 5 activists • More activists where union established • Duration (note on-going campaigns) • Most campaigns last less than six months • Length of campaign increasing over time

6. Methods – table 4 • Individual methods • Widely used, relatively ineffective • Employer-supported methods • Infrequently used, relatively effective • Face-to-face methods • Widely used, relatively effective • Organizing methods • Workplace organizing methods used widely and rated as effective • Extra-workplace organizing methods rarely used and rated as ineffective • Comprehensive campaigns rare – manufacturing, manual workers, no presence, securing recognition

7. Messages – table 5 • Instrumental arguments • Emphasis on collective benefit of membership • Collectivist arguments • Emphasis on collective solidarity & power • Employer arguments • Predominance of low-trust but not militancy • Rights arguments • Emphasis on moral case for unionism – new language • Extended case • Rarely made & when it is stress on occupation/industry • Diversity case • Strong in a minority of campaigns

8. Issues – table 6 • Dominance of traditional union functions • Protection of employees • Improving pay and hours of work • Less emphasis on ‘new agenda’ • Human resource management: work organization, learning, appraisal • Equality and anti-discrimination • Variation • Occupational differences: professionals (HRM) v. manual workers (protection) • Organizer choices: gender & equality

9. Responses – table 7 • Hostility • Prime response • Encompasses both substitution & suppression • Concerted opposition confined to a minority • Support • Minority response • Provision of resources to assist union • Variation • Response relates to prior union presence • Response co-varies with union methods • Organizing methods & traditional issues where hostile • Supported methods & new agenda where supportive

10. Outcomes – table 8 • Membership • Campaigns increased membership but typically at a modest scale; below 100 & 50% • Organizing • Recruitment of activists, creation of committee, self-organizing & representation • Diversity • Increase in women & minority members & activists in significant proportion of campaigns • Recognition • Recognition achieved or strengthened in 20%

11. Pattern of outcomes – table 9

12. Conclusion • Encouraging findings • Innovation: techniques & language • Outcomes: organizing & diversity • Disappointing findings • Conservatism: scale, sector, resources • Outcomes: membership growth modest; recognition infrequent • Variation • Context: presence & response • Methods: no single best approach • Organisers: gender of organizer