Trade Unions in Renewal: A Comparative Study

For years, unions in Anglo-American countries have suffered stagnant or declining memberships. They have experienced diminishing political and economic influence and many are going through crises in the representation of members. During the 1990s a number of union labor federations began to debate these problems. Aimed at rebuilding memberships and restoring their political and economic strength, unions and labor federations have experimented with a host of new ideas and practices. These center on organizing the unorganized, internal reorganization, and membership mobilization. Trade Unions in Renewal brings together a series of special studies of union renewal from five different countries; United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Canada. Although unions across the five countries have all been influenced by recent debates surrounding the organizing model, several unions and the five national federations have charted their own course of renewal. These range from internal union democratization and membership mobilization to new partnership models with employers and governments.