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Introduction

  • Chapter
Community Unionism

Abstract

One feature of the debate surrounding trade union renewal and changes in industrial relations is the emerging interest in the community dimension. Driven initially by debates in the US and now more widely, it is argued that the future of the labour movement rests in the local community and specifically on the fate of local labour markets. Now a global debate addressing local exemplars, discussion of the future of what has been termed ‘Community Unionism’ traverses a range of disciplines, including geography, sociology and of course, industrial relations. For trade unions, it is perceived as important in terms of organising and recruiting but with a particular concern with the importance of community influences. Nonetheless, while the term is being used more extensively, it tends to be loosely deployed and often in such a variety of ways as to generate as much confusion as clarity. One of our objectives here is to draw out the different meanings of the term including a range of the variations on what we term Community Unionism. In this regard, we introduce two additional questions where we consider the role of other social forces, such as the relation of faith-based organisations to community unionism initiatives (Moody, Holgate, Fitzgerald) and community unionism in Japan as a new form of trade unionism in itself (Urano and Stewart).

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Authors
  1. Paul Stewart
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  2. Jo McBride
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  3. Ian Greenwood
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  4. John Stirling
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  5. Jane Holgate
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  6. Amanda Tattersall
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  7. Carol Stephenson
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  8. Dave Wray
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bradford, UK

    Jo McBride

  2. Leeds University Business School, UK

    Ian Greenwood

Copyright information

© 2009 Paul Stewart, Jo McBride, Ian Greenwood, John Stirling, Jane Holgate, Amanda Tattersall, Carol Stephenson and Dave Wray

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Cite this chapter

Stewart, P. et al. (2009). Introduction. In: McBride, J., Greenwood, I. (eds) Community Unionism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230242180_1

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