TY - JOUR
T1 - The ‘indie unions’ and the UK labour movement: Towards a community of practice
AU - Smith, Holly
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was conducted with the support of a PhD scholarship awarded by the Work and Equalities Institute’s ‘Just Work’ project, which was financially supported by the Alliance Manchester Business School Strategic Research Investment Fund LA-SRIF-AA14176, University of Manchester.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021/4/29
Y1 - 2021/4/29
N2 - This article draws on the concept of communities of practice (COP) in order to illuminate the phenomenon of ‘indie unions’ and their contribution to the UK labour movement. These unions are typically regarded as distinct from, and perhaps in opposition to, existing labour movement institutions, and thus exempt from consideration in debates about union renewal. The argument offered here aims to show that by conceptualising the UK labour movement as COP, and the indie unions as community members, they can be considered key actors in union renewal. Through case studies of different union campaigns in the outsourced cleaning sector, this article demonstrates how the indie unions’ strategies are being learned and practised by the established unions, thus situating them as an intrinsic part of a stratified yet solidaristic labour movement with the potential for renewal.
AB - This article draws on the concept of communities of practice (COP) in order to illuminate the phenomenon of ‘indie unions’ and their contribution to the UK labour movement. These unions are typically regarded as distinct from, and perhaps in opposition to, existing labour movement institutions, and thus exempt from consideration in debates about union renewal. The argument offered here aims to show that by conceptualising the UK labour movement as COP, and the indie unions as community members, they can be considered key actors in union renewal. Through case studies of different union campaigns in the outsourced cleaning sector, this article demonstrates how the indie unions’ strategies are being learned and practised by the established unions, thus situating them as an intrinsic part of a stratified yet solidaristic labour movement with the potential for renewal.
KW - Communities of practice
KW - indie unions
KW - organisational learning
KW - trade unions
KW - union renewal
U2 - 10.1177/0143831X211009956
DO - 10.1177/0143831X211009956
M3 - Article
SN - 0143-831X
JO - Economic and Industrial Democracy
JF - Economic and Industrial Democracy
ER -