Union voices

Tactics and tensions in UK organising

Melanie Simms, Jane Holgate and Edmund Heery, ILR Press, 208 pages, paperback, £14.50

Union Voices is the result of a 13-year research project by three industrial relations academics. However, the result is aimed clearly at people working on the ground in Britain today.

The book looks at what union organising means, how it emerged and what its impact has been.

They make connections between UK organising and experiences in American and Australian unions.

The authors wanted to identify if there has been a significant change in UK unions’ orientation towards organising, the different forms it has taken and the level of success associated with any such developments.

Some unions have invested quite heavily in building up membership where they already have a presence.

One example of this is the Usdaw shopworkers’ union which has had some success in using new specialist union organisers to boost union membership in large companies like Tesco.

However, the conclusions of the book are not optimistic. Even under a Labour government, and despite considerable evidence of investment, new practices, and innovation, the authors say UK unions have largely failed to see any significant change in their membership and influence.

Reviews contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop. Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk