Community Unionism

Click on [read more] to view an alphabetised list and, where available, copies of some of the articles I have found useful for defining and discussing community unonism.

The ones marked with an astrisk (*) are specific organising guides produced for and by union and community organisers about how to do on the ground organising.

Where multi-disciplinary, I have marked the discipline in brakets at the end, such as [labour geogrpahy] or [social movement theory].

If you have suggestions of articles that should be added please send the citation, a one-two sentence description and a PDF copy of the article to amandatattersall@gmail.com.

* Alinsky, S. (1971). Rules for Radicals. New York, Random House.
The definitive 'community organising' textbook - an introduction to US Community Organising by the person who popularised the concept. Often a partisan analysis, and now debated by many in US organising circules, this is still a must read for any practitioner who wants to understand community organising or any theorist interested in an introduction.

* Banks, A. (1992). "The power and promise of Community Unionism." Labor Research Review 18: 16-31.
Andy Banks, a union organiser now with the Teamsters Union, rekindled the term Community Unoinism in this early article. He uses it to understand coalition politics in the US, and establishes some parameters for understanding effective coalitions. Download 'The Power and Promise of Community Unionism'

* Bobo, K., J. Kendall, et al. (2001). Organising for social change. Santa Ana, CA, Seven Locks.
This is a great guide for organising, produced by the Mid-West Academy.

Brecher, J. and T. Costello (1990). Building Bridges: The Emerging Grassroots Coalition of Labor and Community. New York City, Monthly Review Press.
This is the book that formalised the discussion about Coalition work in the United States. It is an excellent varied collection from academics and pratitioners, and is a must-read for anyone wanting to source the history of coalition practice, particularly in the US.

Burgmann, M. and V. Burgmann (1998). Green Bans, Red Union: environmental activism and the New South Wales Builders Labourers' Federation. Sydney, UNSW Press. [social movement theory, labour history]
This is a story of an amazing Community Union from Australia. The Builders Laboerer Federation was a construction union that pioneered 'Green Bans' - where they refused to build buildings that damaged the urban envrionment.

Carroll, W. (1992). Organising Dissent: contemporary social movements in theory and practice. Toronto, Garamond Press. [social movement theory]
A great book of case studies discussing social movements and their connection with unions in Canada.

Castree, N., N. Coe, et al. (2004). Spaces of Work: Global Capitalism and the Geographies of Labour. London, Sage Publications. [Labour Geography]
A good introduction to Labor Geography, particularly for explaining and understanding concepts such as scale, spatial, place.

Clawson, D. (2003). The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements. Ithaca, ILR Press.
An exciting narrative of socail movement and union connection in the US labor movement. The book calls for the development of a 'fusion' between unions and social movements, particularly as a means to open up the agenda and demands of labour. It also cautions about relying on coalitions, rather than about activating and engaging union and social movement members as leaders.

Cranford, C. and D. Ladd (2003). "Community Unionism: Organising for Fair Employment in Canada." Just Labor 3: 46-59.
Documents the work of a workers centre in Toronto. It uses and extends much of the work on Workers Centres in the US and places it centrally in a Canadian context. In particular it emphasises the different organising styles between the union movement and community organising.

Dreiling, M. (1998). "'From Margin to Center: Environmental Justice and Social Unionism as Sites for Intermovement Solidarity.'" Race, Gender & Class 6(1): 51-69.A brief documentation of some of the cultural clashes that exist between the environment and union movements, and within the environment and union movements. It importantly contrasts the cultural tensions between more 'institutional' lobby orgnaisations and 'grassroots' organisations.

Ellem, B. (2003). "New Unionism in the Old Economy: Community and Collectivism in the Pilbara's Mining Towns." Journal of Industrial Relations 45(4): 423-441.
A study of union-community relations in an isolated regional mining town in Australia. Ellem uses the framework of labour geography to explore the possibilities of community for union power.

Ellem, B. (2003) "Re-placing the Pilbra's Mining Unions. Australian Geographer, 34(3), 281-296.
Analyses how employer and union power can be spatially fixed in the mining industry, and how unions can strategically use these spatial fixes as a source of power.

Fine, J. (2005). "'Community Unions and the Revival of the American Labor Movement.'" Politics & Society 33(1): 153-199.A study of community unions - workplace centres - in the US and their role in labor movement revival in the United States. This study includes a theoretical exploratin about what is community unions, and the various forms of power they are capable of producing.

Frost, J. (2001). "An Interracial Movement of the Poor:" Community Organizing and the New Left in the 1960s. New York, New York University Press.
A study of the first 'community unions' - work/geographic centres established by Students for a Democratic Society in towns around the US in the 1960s.

Herod, A. (1998). Organising the Landscape: Geographical Perspectives on Labor Unionism. London, University of Minnesota Press. [labour geography]
A collection of artciles exploring the usefulness of labor geography to the study of industrial realtions, and community unionism.

Johnson, N. and P. Jarley (2005). "Unions as social capital: the impact of trade union youth programmes on young workers' political and community engagement." Transfer 11(4).[social capital]
Uses social capital theory and applies it to unions to understand how horizontal relations, including community/identity/interest relations can build union capacity.Download Unions as social capital

Jonas, A. (1998). Investigating Local-Global Paradox: Corporate Strategy, Union Local Autonomy and Community Action in Chicago. Organising the Landscape: Geographical Perspectives on Labor Unionism. A. Herod. London, University of Minnesota. [labour geography]
Considers the important role of local action in buildings coalitions, particularly for creating and sustaining participation.

Kelly, J. (1998). Rethinking Industrial Relations: mobilisation, collectivism and long waves. London, Routledge. [social movement theory]
Adapts social movement theory and investigates the lessons for industrial relations power.

Lipsig-Mumme, C. (2003). Forms of Solidarity: Trade Unions. 2004: www.actu.asn.au/organising/news/1053579943_13456.html.

Massey, D. (1984). Spatial Divisions of Labor: social structures and the geography of production. New York, Routledge.
One of the key initial texts that brings labour geography to bear on industrial relations.

Moody, K. (1997). Workers in a Lean World. London, Verso.
One of the early texts to use the term social movement unionism. Moody learnt from the practices of southern social movements and unions, particularly in South Africa, Korea and Brazil and argued that a more militant union movement is also possible in the north.

Nissen, B. (2000). "Living Wage Campaigns from a "Social Movement" Perspective: The Miami Case." Labor Studies Journal 25(3): 29-50.A key study on the strengths and challenges of labor-community coalitions, particularly examines the role of unions in coalition work.
See also
Nissen, B. (2003). "Alternative Strategic Directions for the US Labor Movement: Recent Scholarship." Labor Studies Journal 28(1): 133-155.
Nissen, B. (2004). "The Effectiveness and LImits of Labor-Community coalitions: Evidence from South Florida." Labor Studies Journal 29(1): 67.

O'Connor, J. (1964). "Towards a theory of community unions, Part I." Studies on the Left 2: 143-164.
O'Connor, J. (1964). "Towards a theory of community unions, Part II." Studies on the left 3(240-257).
The first academic use of the term community unions- O'Connors work both reflected and inspired the practice of Students for a Democratic Society in the US.

Obach, B. (2004). Labor and the Environment Movement: the quest for common ground. Cambridge MA, MIT Press.
A study that adapts organisational studies and social movement literature to examine the challenges of union and environmental coaltions. Develops a series of useful terms including orgnaisational learning within coalitions, and organisational range as a predictor of coalition partnership.

Pastor, M. J. (2001). "Common Ground at Ground Zero? The New Economy and the New Organising in Los Angeles." Antipode 33(2): 260-289.
Considers the important role for coalitions for building progressive politics in regional economices.

Patmore, G. (1997). "Labour-Community Coalitions and State Enterprise: the Lithgow Small Arms Factory 1918-1932." Journal of Industrial Relations 39(2): 218-243.
Considers the history of coaltiions, also considers that coalitions may be more successful in regional towns, where people work and live in the same area.

Reynolds, D. (1999). "Coalition Politics: Insurgent Union Political Action Builds Ties between Labor and the Community." Labor Studies Journal 24(3): 54-75.
A study of many case studies of coalition politics in the US, analysing and comparing outcomes, level of participation and sustainability of the coalition campaigns.

David Reynolds "Building Coalitions for Regional Power: Labor's Emerging Urban Strategy" in Dan Cornfield and Lowell Turner eds. Seeking Solidarity: Labor and the Politics of Urban Coalition Building (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, forthcoming).
This article provides an overview of challenges and promise of the new strategies emerging across the country for labor and its community allies to build power at a regional level. Download Building Coalitions for Regional Power

Robinson, I. (2000). "Neoliberal Restructuring and US Unions: Toward Social Movement Unionism?" Critical Sociology 26(1/2): 109-138.
A study of the various forms of unionism that exist, including social movement unionism as an ideal movement based unionism.

Rose, F. (2000). Coalitions Across the Cultural Divide. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.
Rose develops the term 'bridge-builder' to understand the role of individuals with cross-movement experience in breaking down barriers between unions and community organisations.

Taksa, L. (2000). "Like a Bicyle, Forever Teetering Between Individualism and Collectivism: Considering Community in relation to Labor History." Labor History 78: 7-32. [labour history]
A detailed discussion of the term community in labor history - explores both its structural and identity elements.

Tarrow, S. G. (1994). Power in Movement: social movements, collective action and politics. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press.[social movement theory]
The definitive resource mobilisation text book for social movement theory.

Tuffs, S. (1998). "Community Unionism in Canada and Labor's (re)organisation of Space." Antipode 30(3): 227-250.
An exploration of community unionism as alliance politiics in Canada

Turner, L. (forthcoming). Seeking Solidarity. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.
A study of when community unionism is likely to develop. Develops a framework of 'opportunities and choices' to explore.

von Holdt, K. (2002). "Social movement unionism: the case of South Africe." Work, Employment and Society 16(2): 283-304.
Explores social movement unionism as a distinvely 'southern' and particularistic style of unionism, using social movement theory to understand its elements.

Waterman, P. (1991). Social movement Unionism: A New Model for a New World. Working Paper Series No 110. The Hague, Institute of Social studies.
The original paper that develops and uses the term social movement unionism, particularly emphasising the need for internal union movement reform.

Wills, J. (2002). Union Future: Building Networked Trade Unionism in the UK. Glasgow, Bell & Bain Ltd.
Analyses the possibilities of geographic and community based unionism in the UK.