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Rethinking trade unionism: Union renewal as transition

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  • Peter Fairbrother

Abstract

Union renewal has been the subject of debate over the last two decades. Via a review of these debates, a revision of the union renewal thesis is presented, suggesting that union renewal should be examined as a process of transition. Three analytic dimensions of renewal are identified and presented, each arising out of a consideration of the debates: union organisation, union capacity and union purpose. The proposition is that an understanding of contemporary unionism involves a consideration of the ways renewal involves a multi-faceted transition in relation to the political economy of trade unionism. The way to understand this characterisation is to reconsider theories about unions in terms of a dialectic, addressing the inter-relationships and integration of union organisation, capacities and purpose.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Fairbrother, 2015. "Rethinking trade unionism: Union renewal as transition," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(4), pages 561-576, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:26:y:2015:i:4:p:561-576
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304615616593
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Vincent Pasquier & Rémi Bourguignon & Géraldine Schmidt, 2020. "La négociation des Plans de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi, quels arbitrages ?," Working Papers hal-03045537, HAL.
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    6. Lorenzo Frangi & Tingting Zhang & Robert Hebdon, 2020. "Tweeting and Retweeting for Fight for $15: Unions as Dinosaur Opinion Leaders?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(2), pages 301-335, June.
    7. Erica Romero Pender & Patricia Elgoibar & Lourdes Munduate & Ana Belén García & Martin C Euwema, 2018. "Improving social dialogue: What employers expect from employee representatives," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(2), pages 169-189, June.
    8. Tom Farnhill, 2018. "Union Renewal and Workplace Greening — Three Case Studies," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 716-743, December.
    9. Ruth Barton, 2021. "Trade unions and industrial regeneration in North West Tasmania: Moving beyond lock-in?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(2), pages 332-348, March.
    10. Gregor Murray, 2017. "Union renewal: what can we learn from three decades of research?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(1), pages 9-29, February.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour relations; neo-liberalism; social justice; trade unions; union renewal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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