A Little Help from Our Friends: Exploring and Understanding when Labor-Community Coalitions Are Likely to Form

Summary:

This is an academic peer-reviewed article about the union-community coalitions and the connection between coalition building and union revitalisation.

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Abstract

Union renewal and coalition unionism are widely considered necessary; however, the reasons why a union might participate in a coalition is undertheorized. This article considers six factors that help explain when a union is likely to form a coalition with a community organization, which are explored in a case study comparison of two coalitions in Australia and Canada. Preexisting union identities, common interest, and decentralized union structures make coalition formation more likely and shape the degree of union member participation in coalitions. Unions are likely to engage in coalitions when there is a coincidence of crisis and perceived opportunity for coalition practice, while noting that the depth of union engagement is greatly affected by the type of union actors that initiate coalition participation (whether leaders, organizers, or stewards). Different passages for coalition unionism are possible, and they can originate inside unions or be provoked externally by community organizations.

Citation:

Tattersall, A. (2009). A Little Help from Our Friends: Exploring and Understanding when Labor-Community Coalitions Are Likely to Form. Labor Studies Journal, 34(4), 485-506.