Mapping the Dimensions of Labor Revitalization: Movement Innovators Survey the California Frontier

Organizing Workers in the Space between Unions: Union-Centric Labor Revitalization and the Role of Community-Based Organizations

“…2 My examination is based on research I conducted at the Center from February 2002 to June 2004, which included fieldwork, participant observation, and interviews with staff and garment workers, and analysis of the Center's written records. My choice to study the Garment Worker Center was based on findings from previous research showing that community-based organizations, and worker centers in particular, were key sites of labor revitalization (Sullivan 2004). The most intensive fieldwork took place over four months from December 2002 to March 2003 when I spent time as a participant observer, attending staff, membership, and board meetings, sitting in on training and educational workshops and attending social events, like the Chinese New Year Celebration.…”

“…By reducing such a diverse movement to a single organizational form, observers overlook the revitalizing potential of labor organizations operating in 'the space between unions'. In light of research indicating a significant portion of promising labor movement activity is taking place outside of traditional unions, this union-centric focus is problematic (Sullivan 2004). Community-based labor organizations have the potential to increase the movement's membership base by including workers who are not, and are unlikely to become, union members.…”

Worker Voice and Union Revitalization: The Role of Contract Enforcement at SEIU

“…Unions in the United States are in a state of crisis. Declining membership and faltering efforts to confront intense political and employer opposition have forced many unions to seek out innovative ways to spark much needed revitalization (Baccaro, Hamann and Turner 2003; Clawson 2004; Fantasia and Voss 2004; Fletcher and Hurd 2001; Levesque, Murray, and Queux 2005; Sullivan 2004). Despite the significant amount of union revitalization literature, there is relatively little detail regarding the impact of the grievance system.…”

“…Much of the revitalization research has instead focused on broad, high-level strategic decisions such as the need to emphasize organizing (Clawson 2004; Hurd 2004; Lopez 2004; Milkman and Voss 2004; Turner and Hurd 2001) as opposed to the servicing of members (Clawson and Clawson 1999; Fantasia and Voss 2004; Grabelsky and Hurd 1994; Katz, Batt, and Keefe 2003; Voss and Sherman 2000) or on the need to engage as actors on the political front (Baccaro, Hamann, and Turner 2003; Bruno 2005; Hamann and Lucio Martinez 2003). Sullivan (2004) found that revival efforts fell into five broad categories: (1) union-centered activity; (2) labor-related efforts by community-based organizations; (3) electoral political campaigns in which labor played a key role; (4) hybrid forms of action that included some combination of union, political, and community-based action; and (5) general strategy or policy changes within the labor movement or its organizations. Finally, others have noted that union transformation (Bronfenbrenner and Hickey 2004; Nissen and Jarley 2005) will require labor leaders to make risky trade-offs (Sharpe 2004) and pursue experimental approaches to worker representation (Fletcher and Hurd 1998).…”