Policy Press

Exploring Trade Union Identities

Union Identity, Niche Identity and the Problem of Organizing the Unorganized

By Bob Smale

Published

Jan 8, 2020

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1529204070

Dimensions

203 x 127 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jan 8, 2020

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1529204094

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jan 8, 2020

Page count

184 pages

ISBN

978-1529204094

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press
Exploring Trade Union Identities

The world of work has changed and so have trade unions with mergers, rebrandings and new unions being formed. The question is, how positioned are the unions to organize the unorganized?

With more than three quarters of UK workers unrepresented and the growth of precarious employment and the gig economy this topical new book by Bob Smale reports up-to-date research on union identities and what he terms ‘niche unionism’, while raising critical questions for the future.

Bob Smale retired from University of Brighton in 2018 after half a century of trade union membership and activism and more than thirty years of working in education. He is now concentrating on research and writing. His research interests include employee relations and pedagogy.

Introduction;

What is the problem?;

A new approach to understanding trade union identities and the role of niche;

The general unions;

The industrial and occupational unions;

The organisational unions;

The geographical unions;

The developing story of union identities and niche unionism;

The future of union identities and niche unionism.