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Community unionism in a global city: Lessons from London |
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Written by Dirk Kloosterboer and Piet Göbbels
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Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
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The East London Communities Organisation (Telco) has campaigned successfully for living wages in the expanding local service economy. Telco is a coalition of over 40 churches, mosques, trade union branches, schools, student unions, hospitals and other organisations, founded in 1995. Collectively, these organisations represent at least 50 000 members.
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Contextualising Community Unionism |
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Written by Jo McBride, Ian Greenwood and Jane Holgate
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Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
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‘Community Unionism’ is a term that is ever increasingly being used by both academics and trade unions. Within the academic literature, it is written from a geographical perspective in terms of place and space, from an industrial relations perspective with reference to union renewal strategies and also extends through a global perspective through nationally specific case studies. For trade unions, it is perceived as important in terms of organising and recruiting and also in terms of community influence. However, there are variations in the use of the term resulting in a contested and uncertain meaning as to what is meant by ‘community unionism’. Here, Jo McBride, Ian Greenwood and Jane Holgate report on a workshop that brought together academics researching and writing on the subject of ‘community unionism’ to discuss the different themes emerging on the topic and attempt to place these into context.
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Bringing the community in: possibilities for public sector union success through community unionism |
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Written by Amanda Tattersall
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Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
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Public sector employment relations are increasingly difficult for public sector unions. This paper uses the concept of community unionism to explore how and when relationships between unions and community organisations may enhance union power and success in bargaining and policy reform. The paper uses a case study of the Australia's NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) and their four-year campaign for public education between 2001 and 2004. This case study shows the success of long term deep alliances between parents and teachers in achieving policy reform, while highlighting some limitations for community unionism strategy in salary negotiations. The paper concludes that community unionism is a viable strategy for public sector unions, and suggests that organisational relationships, common interest and multi-scalar forms of activity are important elements of coalitions.
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A little help from our friends |
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Written by Amanda Tattersall
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Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
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Union renewal and coalition unionism are widely considered necessary, however the different factors that provoke union engagement in coalitions is an under-theorized area of scholarship. This article develops a framework using the term community and the dialectic of opportunity and choice to explore likely factors for long-term union coalitions with community organisations. It then explores this framework by comparing two case studies of union engagement in long-term coalitions in Australia and Canada. The article finds that the dialectic of opportunities and choices is critical, and in particular emphasizes the role of pre-existing union identities, and common interest and decentralized union structures for generating deep union engagement. It highlights that unions are likely to engage in coalition unionism when there is a coincidence of crisis and perceived opportunity for coalition practice, while noting that the depth of union engagement is greatly affected by the type of union actors that initiates coalition participation (whether officials, factions, organizers or delegates). The article finds that different passages for coalition unionism are possible, and they can originate inside unions or be provoked externally by coalitions. It stresses that union leadership support for coalition unionism may be necessary for coalition practice, but it is not sufficient for generating deep union engagement in coalitions.
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Organising To Win |
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Written by Kevin Curran
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Monday, 11 September 2006 |
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In this Compass pamphlet, Kevin Curran, International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) official and former General Secretary of the GMB, puts forward some ideas about how the trade union movement could meet some of the challenges it face. None of them are intended to be prescriptive and none of them are exclusive. They are intended to contribute to the debate that has to have as its outcome a stronger, more powerful and more effective movement.
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