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Unions and the organising turn: Reflections after 20 years of Organising Works

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Edmund Heery
Edmund Heery*
Affiliation:
Cardiff University, UK
*
Edmund Heery, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK. Email: Heery@Cardiff.ac.uk
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Abstract

The launch of Organising Works 20 years ago was a key event, not just in the history of Australian trade unions but on a global scale. It marked the beginning of what might be termed the ‘organising turn’, a shift across the international trade union movement towards the greater prioritisation of union organising. This article reviews the 20-year experience of the turn, reflecting upon three of its core attributes. The first is the origin of much activity at the apex of the official trade union movement and the consequences that flow from this point of origin. The second is the emphasis on diversity, with a particular priority in recent times in trying to organise low-wage migrant workers in precarious employment. The final attribute can be labelled ‘neo-syndicalism’. This term refers to a switch towards the ‘internal’ renewal of trade unions and in this regard can be counterposed to attempts at revitalisation that focus on rebuilding relations with government and employers. The article concludes by arguing that organising can and must remain central to union strategy for renewal in Australia and beyond.

Keywords

J51J53J58Collective bargainingcommunity organisinglow-paid workerspartnership unionismsocial movement unionismsyndicalismtrade unionsunion renewalunion revitalisation
Type
Articles
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 26 , Issue 4: Special Collection: Union Organising and Revitalisation , December 2015 , pp. 545 - 560
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015

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