Pat Giles as critical actor within the trade union movement of the 1970s

Hopkins, Lekkie; Roarty, Lynn; Saggers, Sherry

doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2008.08.005

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The notion of the inspirational, visionary, and charismatic union leader is certainly present in the literature on women as transformational leaders and continues to exert considerable influence (see, for example, Cregan, Bartram, and Stanton [2009]; Fletcher and Hurd [1999]). A recent piece on Pat Giles, an important women trade union leader in Australia, calls for an emphasis on critical actors rather than critical mass, and stresses “critical acts strategically enacted by critical actors” (Hopkins, Roarty, and Saggers 2008, 400). The emphasis on charismatic and heroic leaders, and thereby the success of the few women, people of color, or Aboriginal people in such leadership positions, can reinforce the commonsense view that leadership is a personality capacity or characteristic of an individual, even if one that can be trained and encouraged.…”

Section: Heroic Individualism Union Leadership and Union Renewalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Union Renewal, Postheroic Leadership, and Women’s Organizing

Briskin

2011

Labor Studies Journal

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This article examines leaders, leadership, and union renewal with a focus on women's leadership and organizing. First, it considers the links between union renewal and women's local and informal leadership; and second, the contribution of constituency and cross-constituency organizing to union revitalization. It scrutinizes notions of "heroic" leaders, often implicit in union discourse and practice, which undermine membership mobilization, impede the diversification of leadership demographics and the union renewal project, and contribute to the invisibility of other forms of oftengendered leadership. It explores the alternative paradigm of postheroic leadership and argues that constituency organizing is a form of postheroic practice. In so doing, this article challenges union-renewal paradigms to take more seriously women's union leadership and constituency organizing as vehicles for revisioning unions, and offers some alternative entry points into the longstanding political debates and scholarship about women and trade union leadership.Keywords women union leaders, union renewal, informal and local union leadership, constituency organizing, cross-constituency organizing, postheroic leadership, transformational outcomesIn the context of labor market and global restructuring, union movements in many Western countries face declining union densities and reduced bargaining power. As a result, unions and the scholarship about them are heavily focused on union renewal Downloaded from Briskin 509 and revitalization. Union-renewal strategies have emphasized increasing rank-and-file participation, democratizing unions, cross-border solidarity, political campaigns, labor law improvements, and organizing campaigns (Kumar and Schenk 2006). This article examines leaders, leadership, and union renewal with a focus on women's leadership and women's organizing. First, it considers the links between union renewal and women's local and informal leadership; and second, the contribution of constituency and cross-constituency organizing to union revitalization. It scrutinizes notions of "heroic" leaders, often implicit in union discourse and practice, which undermine membership mobilization, impede the diversification of leadership demographics and the union-renewal project, and contribute to the invisibility of other forms of oftengendered leadership. It explores the alternative paradigm of postheroic leadership.The discussion weaves together the women and union, and union renewal literatures and thus attempts "inter-paradigm communication" (Hosking 2007). In so doing, it challenges union-renewal paradigms to take more seriously women's union leadership and constituency organizing as vehicles for revisioning unions, and offers some alternative entry points into the longstanding political debates and scholarship about women and trade union leadership. Despite changing union demographics, the mainstream union-renewal literature has paid surprising little attention to women and has largely failed to undertake a gender-based analysis of...

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Section: Heroic Individualism Union Leadership and Union Renewalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Union Renewal, Postheroic Leadership, and Women’s Organizing

Briskin

2011

Labor Studies Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Pat Giles as critical actor within the trade union movement of the 1970s

Cited by 1 publication

References 9 publications

Union Renewal, Postheroic Leadership, and Women’s Organizing

Union Renewal, Postheroic Leadership, and Women’s Organizing

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