Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the consequences of a managerial 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 approach 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 -The authors' findings suggest that tensions between bureaucracy and democracy will mediate the extent to which managerialist approaches can be used within unions adding support to the strategic choice theory and underlying arguments that unions can influence their fortune. However, institutional and external pressures could see managerialism becoming more prevalent, with oligarchic and bureaucratic forces prevailing, which could be particularly applicable to unions operating in challenging contexts, such as USDAW. The managerialisation of unions has consequences for union officers; with officers facing increasing pressure in their roles to behave as managers with attendant implications for role conflict, identity and motivation. Social implications -If managerialism is becoming more prevalent with unions, with oligarchic and bureaucratic forces prevailing, this has potentially wider societal implications, whereby collectivism and worker-led democracy could become scarcer within unions and the workplace, thus irretrievably altering the nature of the employment relationship. Originality/value -This paper brings together disparate themes in the literature to propose a conceptual framework of three key elements of managerialism: centralised strategies; performance management and the managerialisation of union roles. The authors' findings demonstrate how there is scope for unions to adopt a hybrid approach to renewal, and to draw upon their internal resources, processes and techniques to implement change, including behavioural change. Consequently, theories and empirical studies of union renewal need to better reflect the complexities of approaches that unions are now adopting and further explore these models within the agency and articulation principles that underpin the nature of unions.

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This article presents a first-hand account and afterword by 'Susan Wong' on the formation of an Asian cabin crew trade union and the nine-year period of resistance in response to imposed changes to employment terms and conditions by the management of a UK multinational 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 mobilization, the nature of discrimination and identity, and the lived experience of combining cabin crew work with union activism.

PurposeThis empirical paper aims to explore the effectiveness of the organising model from a worker perspective in unionised workplaces within higher education support services.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach is used in two university Unison branches. Three themes were used to measure the efficacy of the organising model: participation, identification with the union, and union effectiveness.FindingsThe findings were mixed in terms of the success of the organising model in this setting. In terms of the three themes of analysis, there was strong instrumental participation in union matters at the workplace but a lack of deeper penetration of the wider organising agenda in terms of identifying with the union, represented by half the respondents only feeling the salience of their union membership at the workplace. Most respondents felt their union was effective at the workplace in terms of improving pay and conditions but the effectiveness of broader union building aims as proposed by the organising model was not endorsed.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications for the organising model from this research are that there need to be more resources and effort delivered at the workplace level through reps and members to make it truly effective and sustainable.Originality/valueThis research adds to a body of knowledge concerned with workers themselves and how they experience trade unionism at their place of work with the focus of their experience examined through the lens of the organising model.