Community and union-led Living Wage campaigns

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate different approaches to effective campaigning in support of the Living Wage and so this paper contributes to the broader debate over the nature of the union movement's engagement with community groups in pursuit of workplace and social issues. Design/methodology/approach-The paper presents a systematic comparison of a union-led and a community-led campaign, drawing primarily upon interview and survey data. Findings-Though different, both campaigns met with a measure of success in improving employee pay and in increasing union membership suggesting a pragmatic approach to the building of union-community relationships. Practical implications-The paper shows the need for campaigners to adopt a strategic approach in identifying the target for their campaign, and also the importance of shaping a persuasive argument. Originality/value-The paper reaffirms the importance of traditional union-led campaigning alongside campaigning through engagement with community groups and so offers a broader framework for exploring the relationships between union and community groups.

Wage politics and feminist solidarity

“…The wage cartel provoked negative emotions, as people had deep, shared feelings of injustice and wanted to do something about it (Interview of Activist 1). Every successful campaign needs an objective that resonates beyond the immediate actors (Prowse, Lopes, & Fells, 2017), and fighting the wage cartel is a good example of such a case. Subsequently, the Facebook group came to be known as the NoPlayMoney social movement.…”

Trade unions and the Living Wage in the UK

“…However, achieving universal trade union support was not always straightforward and certainly not inevitable (Prowse et al, 2017). As the campaign spread, some officers and some unions were initially sceptical for the reasons set out below.…”

Union Membership as a Moderator in the Relationship Between Living Wage, Job Satisfaction and Employee Engagement

“…Across both developed and developing economies, there seems to be a disjunction between what is set as a minimum wage and what is needed as a living wage (Prowse et al 2017). Certain economics literature suggests that indicators like food poverty lines should be used to determine wages (Mohr et al 2016).…”