1 INCLUSIVE UNIONISM: STRATEGIES FOR RETAINING IDEALISM IN THE SEIU Keywords: Diversity, Industrial democracy, Labour unions, SEIU, Social change, Social inclusion/exclusion, Trade unions Unions in general, and American unions in particular, have not always been beacons of progressivism—many have historically focused on relatively narrow economic interests and job control (Barbash, 1984; Kochan, Katz, & McKersie, 1986; Perlman, 1966). Early commentators observed that the American labor movement “has never been profoundly ideological, nor has it provided a particularly easy entry to a political career” (Bok & Dunlop, 1970: 55). But unions have once again become associated with social justice as recent efforts to revitalize have involved allying with community groups and anti-poverty organizations and incorporated social movement strategies (Clawson, 2003; Fantasia & Voss, 2004; Fantasia & Stepan-Norris, 2004). This has drawn into American unions, whose staff have historically been socially conservative and focused on ‘bread-and-butter’ issues (Barbash, 1967; 1984), new staff who associate union work fundamentally with social change and social justice (Rooks, 2004; Fantasia & Voss, 2004). Observations of the progressive reforms that have galvanized American unions have emphasized that professional staff in these unions led the radical innovations that have successfully revitalized these organizations and the labor movement (Fantasia & Voss, 2004; Milkman & Voss, 2004; Milkman, 2004; Rooks, 2004). Despite the vast amount of scholarship covering the progressive turn in unions in the US and in Europe (Clawson, 2003, Heery, Kelly,
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1
INCLUSIVE UNIONISM:
STRATEGIES FOR RETAINING IDEALISM IN THE SEIU
Keywords: Diversity, Industrial democracy, Labour unions, SEIU, Social change,
Social inclusion/exclusion, Trade unions
Unions in general, and American unions in particular, have not always been
beacons of progressivism—many have historically focused on relatively narrow
economic interests and job control (Barbash, 1984; Kochan, Katz, & McKersie, 1986;
Perlman, 1966). Early commentators observed that the American labor movement
“has never been profoundly ideological, nor has it provided a particularly easy entry
to a political career” (Bok & Dunlop, 1970: 55). But unions have once again become
associated with social justice as recent efforts to revitalize have involved allying with
community groups and anti-poverty organizations and incorporated social movement
few opportunities exist for development and training that would help staff resolve
conflict arising from reconciling different goals in the union. This confirms that the
“sink or swim approach” that Eaton (1995) found in unions two decades ago still
applies to some roles in the union. The tensions that staff were managing on a daily
basis, with little guidance or recognition, originated from the relatively top-down and
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centralized approaches that the SEIU has been criticized for (Moody, 2007; Early,
2009: 229-230; Clawson, 2003). Instead of understanding and addressing the
concerns of Social Activists who left the union, it was more common to see them
referred to as ‘deserters’. Explicitly articulating the work needed to balance growth
with internal democracy and empowering the staff doing that work with resources and
processes may be steps that unions can take towards inclusiveness.
Although scholarly commentaries referred to the important role played by
union staff in the resurgence of ‘social movement unionism’ in the US (e.g. Fantasia
& Voss, 2004), we lacked a detailed analysis of the motivations and actions of union
staff in reformed unions. This study has argued that staff and their commitment to
social change are crucial to building inclusive unionism. Supporting staff in their
personal projects would include designing organizational practices and cultures to
embrace and allow for core identities of staff from diverse backgrounds to be
integrated into union practices. It would also entail promoting an understanding of
different staff motivations for skills development in the union as discussed above and
facilitating knowledge transfers within the union and with other organizations.
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