Special issue on Worker identity, social isolation and absence of community: challenges for the future

Citation

(2007), "Special issue on Worker identity, social isolation and absence of community: challenges for the future", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 20 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm.2007.02320caa.003

Special issue on Worker identity, social isolation and absence of community: challenges for the future

Special issue on Worker identity, social isolation and absence of community: challenges for the future

Editor for this special issue: Denise Faifua, School of Management, University of Tasmania

Please direct submissions to Denise Faifua on denise.faifua@utas.edu.au by 25 September 2007

The focus of this special issue is on worker identity, social isolation, and the absence of options for community as Western labour markets continue to be driven by individualism, globalisation and neo-liberal politics. Traditional trade unionism is in decline in Western economies and there has been a growing trend away from servicing models of unionism to the organising models of community unionism (Heery et al., 2000). Community unionism builds tactical alliances with other interest groups, e.g. consumer groups, human rights groups, shareholders. The problem with strategically mobilising community unionism is that while alliances between unions and non-union groups are useful they are only temporary and the relationship to recruitment and mobilisation of workers is not strong (Sadler, 2004). By contrast, social movement unionism is a type of community unionism that seeks to build from the grassroots. It may be that social union movement has the potential to raise the consciousness, mobilise workers and produce much stronger bonds in community for those in the labour market who are exploited; i.e. casualised workers, women, immigrants, the unemployed, the unorganised, those living below the poverty line. According to Ness (2005, p. 196) mobilisation is not based solely on ethnicity, religion, race, or ideology but is also shaped by a sense of camaraderie in the workplace, isolation and the absence of options. Ness, illustrates how immigrant workers organise themselves in the workplace even before unions come on the scene and how workers are eager to improve wages and working conditions through self-organizing. Fink (2003) illuminates the interpretative tensions of worker identity and community aspiration. Workers can remain tied to their homelands as is the case with migrants who are culturally unaffected by economically forced migration; they can experience contradictory tugs of insider and outsider identity based on second generation immigrant status; or they can avoid local worker identity and community aspiration by adopting a transnational identity. Cornfield et al. (1998)argue the loss of careers and long-term employment relationships provides unions with an opportunity to help workers rebuild their own meaningful communities. Heery et al. (2000) point out a central objective of organising models of unionism is generally to promote the expansion of trade unionism amongst women, the young, and immigrant workers who are at the rough end of the labour market. Yet, ''who sticks with whom and under what conditions poses one of the classic questions as well as a continuing challenge to organisers on the ground'' (Fink, 2003, p. 177).

We welcome papers that address these issues (and more as the coverage is not exhaustive) in the context of encouraging community aspirations and challenging traditional trade unionism. We seek theoretical and empirical papers, literature reviews, stories, interpretations and ethnographies on worker identity, social exclusion, and community building and aspiration, but particularly seek papers which propose, suggest, recommend the way forward for community unionism.

Questions about this special issue, can be directed to Denise Faifua on denise.faifua@utas.edu.au

Submission guidelines: information for contributors to JOCM can be obtained from www.emeraldinsight.com/jocm.htm

Submissions must adhere to the requirements for authors of JOCM. All submissions will be subject to double blind review per the journal review policy.