What are the consequences of a managerial approach to union renewal for union behaviour? A case study of USDAW

Purpose: This paper explores the consequences of a managerialist approach to renewal for a union’s behaviour by analysing the UK’s fourth largest trade union - The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). Design/methodology/approach: The findings draw on in-depth semi-structured interviews with union officials. Findings: The research findings show the significance of a managerialist approach to UDSAW’s renewal strategy and its correlation with existing renewal strategies of organising and partnership. However, this was not immune to context with tensions between agency and articulation challenging the basic concept of managerialism and influencing union behaviour. Research limitations/implications: The data were collected from a single case with a small sample size. Practical implications: Unions could benefit from a managerialist approach to insure against external challenges, but tensions between democracy and efficiency will mediate any such approach to union renewal. Originality/value: This paper brings together the current disparate themes in the literature to propose a conceptual framework of three key elements of managerialism: leadership or centralised renewal strategies; performance management techniques; and the managerialisation of union roles. To date, these elements of managerialism have not been studied simultaneously in a research project and without such knowledge, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the true complexities of how unions organise and renew, both conceptually and empirically. Consequently, we argue that theories of union renewal need to better reflect the complexities of a hybrid approach that unions, such as USDAW, are adopting, particularly their achievements of internal leveraging

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Asian cabin crew member in UK civil aviation. Abstract This article presents a first-hand account and afterword by 'Susan Wong' on the formation of an Asian cabin crew trade union followed by a nine-year period of resistance in response to imposed changes to employment terms and conditions by the management of a UK multi-national airline. The main issue was an imposed premature retirement age compared to UK based colleagues. Opposition occurred in the UK courts, to identify the correct employment jurisdiction and then cite both age and race discrimination. The workers' victory over the company which had similar plans for other overseas workers demonstrates union efficacy and Susan's determination and resilience. The narrative enhances the understanding of the micro-processes of mobilisation, the nature of discrimination and identity, and the lived experience of combining cabin crew work with union activism

A comparative study of trade union renewal strategies : partnership, organising and social unionism

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Comparing retail union strategy in a neoliberal context

Amongst the most vulnerable workers in a neoliberal world are retail employees. In many countries these low paid workers comprise around 10 per cent of the workforce. The retail labour market is highly feminised, in some countries quite youthful and often part time or in various forms of precarious employment. The industry and its unions have however rarely been studied by academics. A three-country research team (United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) is investigating retail union strategy across these Anglophone countries in order to determine how, and how effectively, unions are contributing to workplace justice for retail workers

“How is Organising Playing Out? A three country study in retail”

Trade union renewal strategies have become increasingly important in the context of challenging conditions for unions worldwide (Frege & Kelly 2003). This paper examines union renewal, and in particular, how organising strategies play out in the retail industry in three countries: the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and New Zealand (NZ). The trade unions that are the focus of this study are: the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) in the UK, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) in Australia and FIRST Union in NZ. Our analysis reveals both similarities and differences in how retail unions in the three countries are organising workers. In particular, our analysis identifies an empirical puzzle: the NZ union is different with respect to organising. In this paper, we seek to explain why these differences exist: namely, union leadership and risk and urgency