Genuine Renewal or Pyrrhic Victory? The Scale Politics of Trade Union Recognition in the UK

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate within radical geography concerned with the trade union response to the hegemony of business interests apparent under neoliberal capitalism. In this paper, I contribute to this debate by exploring recent attempts to renew trade union organisation in the UK following decades of decline. I argue that, despite recent successes in stemming falling membership numbers and signing new recognition agreements, closer inspection reveals flaws in the renewal process that reflect the underlying nature of scale politics within the union movement itself. In particular, centralised strategies at the national level are failing to re-energise local-level union organisation leading to a rather hollow and pyrrhic renewal process. Drawing upon both macro-level analysis and evidence from a particular industry case study, I suggest that unions rethink their organisational geographies and scalar relations if they wish to re-connect with the grassroots and at a broader level remain a progressive force in the changing economic landscape.

Scaling up by law? Canadian labour law, the nation‐state and the case of the British Columbia Health Employees Union

“…Over the last decade, much attention has been paid by labour geographers to union strategies for revival. Thus social unionism stresses renewal via greater union democracy, organising and coalition building (Cumbers 2005), while community unionism develops more on the local labour market scale and reaches out to non‐labour constituencies such as immigrants, women and workers of colour (Herod 2001; Lier 2007; Savage 2006; Tufts 1998 2006; Wills 2001 2008). Union rescaling may also involve global justice networks (GJNs), which develop international worker solidarity (Cumbers et al 2008a 2008b; Waterman and Wills 2001) and target key segments of corporate global production networks (Herod 2001).…”

“…Thus scales are not fixed or uncontested, but neither are they easily malleable and scaling up to national or other scales may not always favour labour (see Cumbers 2005). Rather what is critical is whether such scalings ‘create opportunities for a variety of different site‐scalar strategic actions’ (Jonas 2006, 404) and how these are deeply imbricated in power relations between labour, capital and the state.…”

‘Thinking Outside the Box’? Trade Union Organizing Strategies and Polish Migrant Workers in the United Kingdom

“…A fourth strand of literature points to the importance of scale in considering trade union responses, not simply in emphasizing the importance of neighbourhood and local communities, but in its sensitivity to different echelons of trade union activity (Cumbers 2005; Waterman and Wills 2001). A focus on scale is salient in considering whether the initiation of policy is top‐down or bottom‐up.…”

Trade Union Learning Strategies and Migrant Workers

“…There were also both direct and indirect forms of racism that further undermined many migrant workers, which reinforced the problems already outlined and created a greater sense of detachment in terms of institutional affiliation. The challenge related to the nature of employment regulation in the UK (Cumbers, 2005) and the extent to which migrant workers were able to acquire representation and voice in jobs. Hence, the failure and inconsistency of employment regulation impacted heavily on migrant workers.…”