From invisible to invincible: the story of the 3 Cosas Campaign

Moyer-Lee, Jason; Lopez, Henry Chango

doi:10.5040/9781350223929.ch-011

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The rise of these new, independent trade unions has attracted increasing scholarly attention. Several studies examining at the successful organisation of low-paid migrant workers within independent unions in the UK have started to address a gap in the literature that has hitherto overlooked the grassroot worker initiatives outside of established trade unions (see Kirkpatrick, 2014; Moyer-Lee and Lopez, 2017; Shenker, 2019; Pero, 2020; Hardy, 2021; Gall, 2020; Cant and Woodcook, 2020; Pannini, 2021; Weghmann, 2022; Smith, 2022; Petrini and Wettergren, 2022). Understanding workers’ experiences in these new trade unions have global significance in terms of understanding the emerging phenomenon of organising outside of the traditional structures of established trade unions (Ness, 2014; Rizzo and Atzeni, 2020; Webster et al.…”

Section: An Emerging Literature On Independent Trade Unionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The tail that wags the dog: lessons from the UK's independent unions for class struggle trade unionism

Weghmann

2023

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PurposeThis article examines in what way strategies of new independent trade unions in London – that achieved pioneering, victories to end outsourcing – offer learning opportunities for more established trade unions. It proposes to (re-)encourage a culture of class struggle trade unionism. The article builds on existing research that outlined the organising practices of these independent trade unions but breaks down the binary analysis of independent versus established trade unions. The author uses the acronym CARE (Collectivising individual grievances, Action, Relations of trust and care, Escalating confrontations) as an analytical framework for exploring class struggle trade unionism, and examines in what ways these strategies have been (re)-learnt by established trade unions through the example of independent trade unions. In doing so, this article contributes to a much wider debate on trade union renewal.Design/methodology/approachThis article offers an insider perspective of an “academic activist” (Chatterton et al., 2007). The article draws on author’s experiences and reflection as the co-founder of the trade union United Voices of the World (UVW) created in 2014, and previously involvement in the establishment of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) in 2012. Findings are based on author’s ethnographic engagement as well as a selection of 29 interviews from a much larger data set on independent trade unions comprising focus groups and interviews.FindingsThis article demonstrates that class struggle trade unionism has in some ways been remembered and hence pioneered by the new independent trade unions, yet they are possible in established trade unions alike.Originality/valueThis is the first time an article systematically explores the strategies that established trade unions can learn – and indeed are learning – from independent trade unions.

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Section: An Emerging Literature On Independent Trade Unionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The tail that wags the dog: lessons from the UK's independent unions for class struggle trade unionism

Weghmann

2023

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“…There is an emerging literature on these developments (see Kirkpatrick, 2014;Moyer-Lee and Lopez, 2017;Alberti and Pero, 2018;Shenker, 2019;Pero, 2020;Hardy, 2021) with some debate over their relevance in the organisation of low paid and migrant workers. Pero (2020) praises them as the beginning of an 'effective representation of the precariat'.…”

Section: The Emergence Of the Independent Trade Unions In The Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After a brief period within the IWW the cleaners' branch created their own independent trade union, the Industrial Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), which was later renamed to Independent Workers of Great Britain (for a more detailed overview of these developments, see Kirkpatrick, 2014). United Voices of the World (UVW) was founded in 2014 and roughly at the same time the University of London/Senate House Justice for Cleaners campaign broke away from Unison and joined the IWGB (for a more detailed overview of these developments see Moyer- Lee and Lopez, 2017). Shortly after, the original cleaners branch in the IWGB broke away due to personality clashes and founded the Cleaners and Allies Independent Workers Union (CAIWU).…”

Section: The Emergence Of the Independent Trade Unions In The Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theorising practice: independent trade unions in the UK

Weghmann

2022

Work in the Global Economy

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This Theory into Practice piece uses theoretical underpinnings of Ness as well as Cleaver and Sivanandan to explore the role of two independent trade unions that emerged in the UK in the mid 2010s, namely the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) in 2012 and the United Voices of the World (UVW) in 2014. Despite being of relatively small size (each has a membership of under 10,000) and with few financial resources, they have been praised for their ground-breaking and ‘significant high-profile wins’ in ‘David and Goliath’ battles. In this article I discuss why low paid, largely migrant workers have organised within these independent unions; and the extent to which they have applied syndicalist tactics and strategies. The analysis is rooted in my practice, as someone who was involved in the IWGB from the start and then co-founded the UVW in 2014.

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“…In 2012 outsourced workers in the University of London (UoL) Unison branch launched a campaign for sick pay, holiday and pensions. Unison did not fund the campaign, cancelled internal elections when some of the affected workers stood for branch positions, and called the police on those workers when they protested outside Unison’s head office (see Moyer-Lee and Chango-Lopez, 2017). They decided to leave Unison and join the IWGB en masse , and in 2013 their ‘3 Cosas’ campaign resulted in them receiving all of those demands (Alberti, 2016).…”

Section: The Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The burgeoning literature on these new unions (Alberti, 2016; Alberti and Pero, 2018; Gall, 2020; Kirkpatrick, 2014; Pero, 2019; Woodcock, 2014) positions them, whether implicitly or explicitly, as something separate from, or even in opposition to existing UK labour movement institutions. This approach is certainly understandable given that members of these unions cite their previous experiences of exclusionary treatment within Trades Union Congress (TUC) unions as the primary reason for their formation (see Kirkpatrick, 2014; Moyer-Lee and Chango-Lopez, 2017). Pero suggests that the union renewal literature’s institutionalist focus overlooks these grassroots efforts, and also that ‘the large unions, on the whole, seem to resent the new actors’ arrival’ (2019: 906).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘indie unions’ and the UK labour movement: Towards a community of practice

Smith

2021

Economic and Industrial Democracy

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This article draws on the concept of communities of practice (COP) in order to illuminate the phenomenon of ‘indie unions’ and their contribution to the UK labour movement. These unions are typically regarded as distinct from, and perhaps in opposition to, existing labour movement institutions, and thus exempt from consideration in debates about union renewal. The argument offered here aims to show that by conceptualising the UK labour movement as COP, and the indie unions as community members, they can be considered key actors in union renewal. Through case studies of different union campaigns in the outsourced cleaning sector, this article demonstrates how the indie unions’ strategies are being learned and practised by the established unions, thus situating them as an intrinsic part of a stratified yet solidaristic labour movement with the potential for renewal.

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From invisible to invincible: the story of the 3 Cosas Campaign

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

The tail that wags the dog: lessons from the UK's independent unions for class struggle trade unionism

The tail that wags the dog: lessons from the UK's independent unions for class struggle trade unionism

Theorising practice: independent trade unions in the UK

The ‘indie unions’ and the UK labour movement: Towards a community of practice

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