Organizers' Roles Transformed? Australian Union Organizers and Changing Union Strategy

Abstract

The authors would like to thank Julius Roe and Michael Crosby for comments on an earlier draft, along with participants at the 2004 AIRAANZ conference and a number of union conferences and events where these results have been discussed. We thank, in particular, the unionists who participated in the study and the union officials who facilitated it. The study was funded through an ARC SPIRT Grant (C00107620) in partnership with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and thirteen of its affiliates. Organisers' Roles Transformed A survey of organisers in thirteen Australian unions indicates that, while progress appears to have been made towards more 'organising' approaches to their work, much remains to be done. Few resources are devoted to 'growth' and organisers still spend a relatively large amount of their time on grievance resolution and a relatively small amount of their time on developing delegate infrastructure. They encounter a variety of obstacles. However, there are some advantages in recruiting former community or student activists. A key role is shown for union leadership in assisting organisers to undertaken their demanding work in a changing context. * A score greater than 3 indicates this item is a net positive, a score less than 3 indicates it is a net negative. Correlations of .12 and above are significant at the 5 per cent level..

An Analysis of Workplace Representatives, Union Power and Democracy in Australia

“…Carter and Cooper 2002). For example, workplace representative structures are unable to develop effectively in most workplaces if the union office does not provide training to underpin delegate development or does not practically reallocate servicing demands faced by organizers (Peetz et al. 2007).…”

“…The conceptualization and analysis of an organizing approach has not been without controversy in the international literature (Carter 2006, de Turberville 2004, 2007). Its characteristics have differed in practice between countries, and between and even within unions in particular countries (Carter and Cooper 2002; Peetz et al. 2007).…”

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“…The RORP study was conducted from 2002 to 2004, over a decade after the shift to enterprise bargaining, half way into the more hostile Howard Government era and a few years after the ACTU had adopted in principle the idea of moving to more organising approaches. It contained a number of components, including: a survey of 379 organisers from 13 unions (Peetz et al ., ); a survey of 2506 delegates from eight unions (Peetz and Pocock, ) and focus groups with 60 delegates from the same eight unions (Clarke et al ., ); and a survey of leaders from 13 unions. The survey of delegates from eight unions is the most heavily utilised in this article among those.…”

From building site warriors to Korean church: radical strategic realignment in Sydney's construction union

“…Presently a 'servicing model' [Peetz, (2006), pp.157-185;Peetz et al, 2007] mentality seems to exist, especially in relation to migrant workers, where the union offers assistance and benefits in exchange for union fees. In other words, the bureaucracy and centralisation can be used to achieve and support left-humanitarian objectives.…”