A Feminist Trade Union Agenda? The Continued Significance of Class, Gender and Race

Abstract

During the 1990s attempts to identify a feminist trade union agenda have focused on both the content and process of such a potential agenda. In a period in which trade unions have changed significantly, the general national agenda appears to be changing, acknowledging issues of importance to women. UNISON, Britain's largest trade union, has enshrined proportionality and fair representation in its constitution, developing national initiatives aimed at improving opportunities in work and in the union for women, black workers, manual workers, disabled workers, etc. who traditionally have been less well represented. Many issues affecting women generally have moved to centre stage, yet issues affecting women ancillary workers seem as excluded as ever. Through a study of cleaners in the National Health Service this article argues that workplace interests reflect wider social divisions, but in a variety of patterns depending on the social organization of work. Despite the widening trade union agenda, particular interests Ð more specifically the workplace interests of working-class women and black women Ð continue to be neglected.

Women's attitudes towards trade unions in the UK: a consideration of the distinction between full- and part-time workers

“…It is possible that working-hours within this sector account for some negative experiences among women, particularly among those who referred to their current employment context and unsociable hours of work which resulted in lack of communication. However, the findings here do resonate with Waddington and Kerr's (1999b) research, which stated that problems in communication and negative experiences of unions were more common among female workers and Munro's (2001) findings, which revealed negative and critical responses from ancillary workers regarding their representation by UNISON.…”

Trade Union Members’ Participation at Branch and Regional Levels: A Comparison of Women and Men in UNISON

“…UNISON has been at the forefront of attempts to address this problem. Its efforts have met with considerable success, although attempts to achieve proportionality and fair representation have encountered some resistance within the union, and barriers to participation remain (Colgan and Ledwith, 2007b;Munro, 2001).…”

Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA

“…The class-based discourse of 'equality and justice for all' is very powerful in unions in both countries, even if in the USA it is not named as such and is articulated more in terms of interest differences between workers and managers. Identifying other identity-based interests as a priority often meets disapproval from both male and female unionists (McBride, 2001;Munro, 2001). This is not just a question of which identity takes precedence as a basis for action; the crisis context of union decline also strongly influences women's support for the mainstream (class-based) agenda.…”