The Future of Unions and Worker Representation: The Digital Picket Line

This book explores how trade unions can revitalize themselves in Australia, the USA, the UK, and Italy by adopting innovation and digital campaigning. It examines the responses of unions to declining membership levels and the emergence of the gig economy. It also assesses the strengths and deficiencies of the legal framework for union representation and identifies the reforms needed to rebuild collectivism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This comprehensive book explores the revitalization of trade unions across four key countries: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. It delves into the examples of innovation and digital campaigning that empower unions to forge new avenues of worker power, countering the decades-long decline in membership caused by neoliberalism, globalization, and employer hostility. The study assesses the responses of unions in each country to declining membership levels since the 1980s, comparing the US organizing model with its adoption in Australia and the UK, as well as the strategies of Italian unions that have prioritized precarious and migrant workers.

The book scrutinizes the growing reliance of US unions on community alliances, such as the "Fight for $15" campaigns, and explores emerging union prototypes like Hospo Voice in Australia, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, and SI Cobas in Italy. It also provides an in-depth analysis of union responses to the gig economy in these four countries, highlighting the emergence of self-organized worker collectives as a means to combat this exploitative business model.

Furthermore, the book examines the vital role played by unions in defending the interests of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting successful union initiatives and assessing the strengths and deficiencies of the legal framework for union representation in these nations. It identifies the labor law reforms needed to rebuild collectivism, arguing that more is required than favorable laws.

This cross-national study offers a rich foundation for identifying the combination of reforms, strategies, and linkages required to ensure that unions can remain relevant for a new generation of digitally-savvy workers. By examining the experiences and challenges faced by trade unions in different countries, the book provides valuable insights into the future of labor movements and the role they can play in shaping a more equitable and prosperous society.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509956432