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http://lsj.sagepub.com/Labor Studies Journal
http://lsj.sagepub.com/content/34/4/461
The online version of this article can be found at:
DOI: 10.1177/0160449X083247062009 34: 461 originally published online 8 October 2008Labor Studies Journal
Sandra Cockfield, Al Rainnie, Donna Buttigieg and Marjorie JerrardUnions and Community in Victoria, Australia
Community Unionism and Union Renewal : Building Linkages between
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What is This?
- Oct 8, 2008OnlineFirst Version of Record
- Nov 6, 2009Version of Record>>
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461
Authors Note: Earlier versions of this article were presented to the ACREW/KCL Conference on
socially responsive, socially responsible approaches to employment and work, July 14, 2006, Prato, Italy
and the 22nd European Group for Organizational Studies Colloquium, July 68, 2006, Bergen, Norway,
and we would like to thank the participants for their comments. We would also like to thank all those who
agreed to be interviewed and to acknowledge and thank Annie Delaney and Pravin Madhavan for their
assistance with data collection.
Labor Studies Journal
Volume 34 Number 4
December 2009 461-484
2009 UALE
10.1177/0160449X08324706
http://lsj.sagepub.com
hosted athttp://online.sagepub.com
Community Unionism and
Union RenewalBuilding Linkages between Unions and
Community in Victoria, Australia
Sandra CockfieldMonash University
Al RainnieUniversity of Leicester
Donna ButtigiegMonash University
Marjorie JerrardMonash University
The purpose of this article is to identify various ways unions engage with communities
and to understand the obstacles that confront unioncommunity cooperation. Qualitative
data was analyzed from multiple sources, including documentary evidence and inter-
views with union officials and community activists. We locate the debate on community
unionism within the broader literature on union renewal and revitalization. In doing this
we are able to explore the potential of different forms of unioncommunity relationships
to foster union renewal. The study reveals the diversity in relationships both within and
across unions and the existence of coalitions operating at different levels within union
organization. While the unions in this study were actively seeking to engage with the
community, not all alliances were reflective of an inclusive social and political agenda
which could constitute the basis for union renewal.
Keywords: community unionism; union renewal; union strategy; Australian union-ism; inclusive social agenda
Agrowing debate within the union renewal literature concerns the relationshipbetween unions and the community. Driven by an ongoing crisis of membership
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462 Labor Studies Journal
in Europe, North America, and Australia, accompanied by a perceived failure of ear-
lier models of union organization (Moody 1997; Robinson 2000), many writers are
recognizing the increasing importance of unions moving beyond the workplace andengaging with communities (Brecher and Costello 1990; Craft 1990; Wills 2001;
Wills and Simms 2004; Turner 2006; and see Nissen 2004 for an overview of U.S.
studies). Alliances between unions and community groups are seen as a way unions
can broaden their appeal and relevance (see Brecher and Costello 1990; Nissen
2004). Unions are a part of the community, and by forging common cause with com-
munity groups they can tackle issues that extend beyond the workplace and reach
workers who have been traditionally marginalized from trade unions or have been
difficult to reach with traditional organizing methods (Wills 2001, 466; Cranford and
Ladd 2003).The article explores this phenomenon in an Australia setting. Our purpose is two-
fold. First, we examine how a number of Australian unions have connected with
the community. To date, research on union and community links in Australia has
focused mostly on single case studies (Cutcher 2004; Ellem 2004; Jones 2002;
Rainnie and Drummond 2005; Sadler 2004; Tattersall 2006), with the exception of
Tattersall (2005), who addresses the questions of typology and levels of union
community alliances. In contrast, our purpose in this article is to paint a broader
picture of unioncommunity coalitions and alliances within one region, the state of
Victoria in Australia.Second, we ask to what extent these union and community relationships pro-
vide opportunities for union renewal. The label community unionism is used to
describe a wide range of union and community relationships but there is a danger
that the sheer diversity of organizations and actions so labeled threatens the con-
cept with becoming chaotic. By this we mean that politically it is a strong policy-
driving concept but is so packed full of diverse definitions and meanings as to have
little analytical value. Union and community alliances have a long history and not
all of these relationships will foster renewal. Fairbrother (2000) argues union
renewal must encompass a political agenda. While halting decline or membershipgrowth are signs of resilience or revival, renewal involves organizational and polit-
ical changes within unions that foster activism, engagement, and participation. The
challenge addressed in this article is to identify those union and community rela-
tionships that will foster this deeper understanding of union renewal while
acknowledging the roles that traditional alliances still play for both unions and
their community partners.
These issues are explored through semi-structured interviews with union officials
and community activists and the analysis of associated documentary sources, includ-
ing minutes of meetings, correspondence, newsletters, and Web sites. Ten tradeunions and eight community organizations participated in the study. Interviews with
senior officials were sought as it was considered they offered two advantages. First,
they have overview of events across the organization and second, they can discuss
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the strategy and policies of the organization with authority. As senior officials may
in some cases be remote from the daily challenges faced by those further down the
hierarchy, evidence is corroborated with other sources such as documentation andcross referencing information between interviewees.
The article begins with an analysis of the literature on community unionism while
acknowledging the complex and contested notion of community. Trade union and
community relationships are then examined with an analysis of which alliances work
within each of the sectors. The article concludes with the implications of the research
for union renewal.
Union Renewal through Communities and Social Justice
Even a cursory survey of the various examples of unioncommunity relationships
reveals the diversity of forms these take, and this can cause problems in identifying
exactly what is community unionism. From the point of view of unionists, activists,
and scholars, a common understanding of what is being discussed needs to be
arrived at to avoid ongoing confusion of terminology and also wasting of resources
developing inappropriate tactics as part of alliance building. A key element of com-
munity unionism is that it extends beyond the workplace to achieve objectives that
may have elements of commonality to the union, its members, and the community.
This is particularly important as the union and its members are part of the commu-nity and the identification of common objectives will lead to mutual, albeit not nec-
essarily equal, support.
Union and community collaborations can consist of community involvement in
a particular union campaign or may involve unions assisting specific community
groups. In some cases these alliances may produce new organizations (Lipsig-
Mumme 2003). For Turner (2006), coalitions develop through stages, beginning
with one-off events that may develop into campaigns and finally lead to institutional
consolidation. An example of this staged progression is found in the alliance
between the Victorian branch of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union(AMIEU) and various animal rights groups (Jerrard 2007). This originated with an
alliance between animal liberationists and the unions members and officials for a
protest in 1974 against live sheep export from Portland in the south of the state; and
has resulted in a three-decade -long reciprocal alliance to campaign against live ani-
mal export and the formation of a number of new groups drawn from members
of the community and union members; for example, People Against Live Export
(PALE) and People Against Cruelty to Animals in Transport (PACAT).
Several writers have sought to identify different types of unioncommunity rela-
tionships. These typologies direct attention to various dimensions that characterizeunioncommunity relationships but tend to regard unions and their members as sep-
arate from the community, not part of it. One such dimension is the extent of union
or community influence and control within the alliance (Frege, Heery, and Turner
Cockfield et al. / Community Unionism and Union Renewal 463
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2004). Various authors have noted the power imbalance between unions and com-
munity groups, which tend to be resource poor and rely on donations, public fund-
ing, and volunteers (Needleman 1998; Mathers 2000; Wills and Simms 2004). Inthese circumstances it is easy for union interests to dominate, causing a breakdown
in the relationship. A further distinction examines the purpose of the relationship for
coalition partners, differentiating between instrumental relationships, where com-
munity or union involvement is little more than a new range of campaign and orga-
nizing tactics, from more reciprocal relationships where both the unions and the
community can share common interests and utilize each other as resources (Stirling
2004, 5). Tattersall (2005) adds the level and location of participation to the mix, not-
ing alliances and coalitions can operate at any level or location. However, she draws
on recent arguments on spatiality derived from labor geography to argue real poweris derived from grassroots participation and commitment, which involves organizing
at the local level. Similarly, Clawson (2003), Cutcher (2004), Lopez (2004), Schenk
(2003), and Stirling (2004) all argue participation is vital to sustaining effective
coalitions. Finally, Frege, Heery, and Turner (2004) consider whether alliances are
insider groups (coalitions of influence) or outsider groups (coalitions of protest).
The plethora of relationships labeled community unionism renders the concept
problematic because not all types of relationships are equally powerful and sustain-
able. Moreover, many of the examples now labeled community unionism are not
new and have always existed under a variety of labels over time (Wills and Simms2004; Clawson 2003; Jerrard et al. 2007). Frege, Herry, and Turner (2004) suggest
that unions have always built coalitions that are beyond the normal scope of trade
unions and are necessarily secondary to the primary goals of unions. However, rele-
gating such movements to secondary status ignores the arguments about the possi-
bility of new tactics and union forms fitting emerging sociopolitical circumstances
and also ignores the possibility that unions as part of the community may have objec-
tives in common with the community. If community unionism constitutes a new
form of unionism, then it is important to identify the elements that constitute this
new form of unionism. Simply rebadging old models does not fulfill this function,although it remains necessary to consider how elements of old models, such as union
charity work and political unionism, may be extended by this new form of unionism
or, alternatively, add to it.
Frege, Heery, and Turner (2004) borrow from the varieties of capitalism literature
(see Hall and Soskice 2001) to argue the forms communityunion relationships take
are influenced and shaped by the place of the labor movement within the political and
economic institutional structures and processes within a country. Several writers argue
that neoliberal restructuring not only makes increasingly redundant old social-democratic
models of trade union organization but also, in opening up civil society, providesunions with new opportunities to mobilize and organize as part of that society
(Mathers, Upchurch, and Taylor 2004; Upchurch, Mathers, and Taylor 2004, 34). In
an environment dominated by global capital and characterized by organizational
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prevent community unionism from developing. As Rudy (2004) argues, in such
cases unions need to build the community. This raises an important question about
the meaning of community. The concept of community is used quite loosely andcan either refer to specific groups or a locality or have a more expansive meaning, in
some cases even being used as a euphemism for the public (Lipsig-Mumme 2003;
Sadler 2004). Indeed Pocock (2003) argues that with the fragmentation of previously
homogenous workplace-based communities, the workplace itself can come to play
the role of community. Implicit in much of the discussion of community unionism is
a positive notion of community as inherently good. The term is value-laden and
normative, with communities seen as representative, participatory, and cohesive, a
problem common in discussions of community more generally (Fremeaux 2005).
More critical interpretations of community point to its contested nature. Communitieshave a political and social dimension as well as a spatial dimension (Taksa 2000).
They have identities distinguished by shared values and meanings but these are
defined through political contests and struggles and in the process, communities can
be both exclusive and inclusive (Taksa 2000; Wills 2001). Labor geographers have
described this process as the operation of the sociospatial dialectic, producing the
particular politics of place (Herod 2002). What the contemporary definitions of com-
munity lack is the original sense of the Latin word communitas, which encapsu-
lated a spirit of belonging, rather than of identification with a group or a region,
and this absence has largely contributed to the disparity of terms.The preceding discussion suggests not all union and community alliances repre-
sent a shift in union strategy and in some cases, alliances are merely new tactics har-
nessed to old causes. The comment by Allan Flanders (1970, 15) that trade unions
have always had two faces, sword of justice and vested interest highlights the dual
concern of unions over time, namely objectives that are of concern to those outside
of the union and the narrow industrial objectives of immediate concern to members.
However, there is one key feature that is apparent in all of the relationships, namely
that the objective must extend beyond the workplace and its narrow industrial focus
to include a broader social agenda, a feature that highlights the overlap betweencommunity unionism and social movement unionism (Waterman 2001; Lopez
2004). This allows both temporary and long-term alliances to be acknowledged as
community unionism. It also allows for charity work to be included because the
union and its members are working on behalf of a community of which they are part
or may become a part. A unions members are workers, consumers or purchasers,
belong to the union, and belong to a geographic community, meaning that if a union
relates to its members in multiple roles, it is more likely to build a deeper relation-
ship with them, leading to a stronger base from which to develop alliances with those
not directly part of the union. A union is part of wider society and its actions willaffect that society (Wishart 1992).
The sector in which a union operates is also an important consideration when
establishing objectives that extend beyond the workplace. Those unions covering
466 Labor Studies Journal
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workers in the areas of public health, public education, and emergency services have
greater opportunities to tie their industrial objectives into broader social justice objec-
tives and to attract public attention and support for their campaigns than do thoseunions operating in the private sector (Johnston 1994; Hayes and Jerrard 2007). These
public sector unions, because of a more direct and vital link with all sections of the
community, find it easier to portray their industrial campaigns sympathetically
because they can easily make a case for being part of the community and for their
objectives to be considered as protecting these broader community interests. For
example, nursing unions asking for a higher nurse-to-patient ratio improves working
conditions while providing a higher level of care for patients; education unions con-
cerned with lowering class sizes are arguing simultaneously for improved working
conditions and better educational outcomes for children; police unions fighting for anincrease in police numbers not only improves conditions but also improves public
safety. The members of these unions are visible: police on the streets, nurses caring
for patients during visiting hours, teachers at parentteacher events at schools.
Unions in the private sector find it more difficult to attract public sympathy and
positive media attention and this may be why a greater number of unions in this sec-
tor rely on charity work and political or environmental campaigns as an initial start-
ing point for building bridges with the community from which support may then be
sought. To briefly illustrate the distance that has to be overcome for these private sec-
tor unions, steel manufacturing will be used. Customers or clients of a steel manu-facturer will be other manufacturers such as automotive companies, geographically
distanced in many cases from the location of the steel workers jobs. These end
users, the automotive companies, are therefore more likely to be able to combine
with the initial employer to manipulate media portrayal of an industrial campaign in
their favor, even if it is over an issue of concern to the community in which the steel
manufacturer is located (e.g., job security or job losses with a flow-on effect on the
local geographic community) (Hayes and Jerrard 2007). The original employer and
the end users are all corporations with the strength of multinational corporations
behind them, not individuals, which further exacerbates the difficulty unions in thissector face when making contact with the community to gain support for union cam-
paigns. Later in the article, sectoral differences will be further analyzed as part of
discussion of the unioncommunity alliances in Victoria, Australia.
From Supporting the Community to GainingCommunity Support
In Victoria, neoliberal restructuring has reached further than in any otherAustralian state. The election of the conservative Kennett Liberal Government in
1992 led to extensive privatization of public instrumentalities and severe cuts in
government funding, particularly for education, health, and policing. The Victorian
Cockfield et al. / Community Unionism and Union Renewal 467
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Government also took an aggressive antiunion stance. Aside from ceding its indus-
trial relations powers to the Australian Federal Government, it coerced public sector
staff onto individual contracts and ended the payroll deduction of union dues (Costarand Economou 1999). This occurred within a broader context of organizational and
labor market restructuring, accompanied by decentralized bargaining, including
moves to nonunion bargaining and individual contracts occurring across Australia.
The election of a Victorian Labor Government in 1999 saw increased public funding
for education, health, and policing, but within a neoliberal agenda.
A major overhaul of federal industrial relations regulation in late 2005 by the
conservative Liberal-National Government, incongruously libeled WorkChoices,
places further restrictions on union organization and representation, collective bar-
gaining and industrial action. This is complemented by other legislative changes thatwill force some single mothers and workers on disability pensions into the work-
force. Many of those who will be hardest hit by the legislation are not covered by
unions, and in some cases are not in the workforce (Hall 2006). In this environment,
traditional union strategies that center on bargaining and protective legislation are
unlikely to be effective in either furthering the union cause or protecting the position
of workers and those not in paid employment. Once the legal rights and protections
that had previously guaranteed union reach much greater than union density are
removed, unions must find new strategies to attract and retain members and remain
a viable part of the community or else wither and die.The following discussion identifies and analyzes the unioncommunity relation-
ships found in Victoria. From the data analysis, unioncommunity relationships have
predominately been formed around two major but interlinked drivers: industrial issues
and social justice issues. There are a number of different types and levels of alliances
considered, including temporary and long-term alliances that are drawn from both the
public and private sectors and derived from the membership or by the leadership,
reflecting different types of unions and different types of community partners.
Building Community Support: Public Sector Unions
A number of alliances have at their core a concern with industrial issues, though
often presented within a broader social justice framework. Some of these alliances
can be considered as traditional or instrumental in the sense that they initially
reflect the unions vested interest and second, the issue for the community. From the
sample, it appears that, as argued earlier, the formation of alliances is easier for
unions representing workers providing a public service and benefit to the commu-
nity. In these situations, working with the community is a way of getting key stake-holders on side. This does not mean the alliances and coalitions are necessarily
limited to industrial issues, nor the absence of a reciprocal relationship between the
union and the coalition partner(s). Essentially though, as Wills (2001) notes, these
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alliances use community to support traditional union organization but may include
objectives of dual concern. Alliances developed in response to industrial relations
changes and conservative government policies are therefore aimed at mobilizingopposition and resistance beyond the narrow confines of union members. While such
coalitions provide additional leverage during campaigns (see Stirling 2004), they are
in some cases little more than a new tactic, and sometimes an old tactic used to gain
instrumental objectives on behalf of the union.
At one level unions can seek broad public support through media campaigns that
raise awareness of issues and their wider impact. Our research supports the view that
public sector unions find this easier than those in the private sector. The teachers,
nurses, and police unions have all run professional media campaigns to raise aware-
ness of the impact of inadequate public funding on the range and quality of servicesprovided. Both the Australian Education Union (AEU) and the Australian Nurses
Federation (ANF) attribute membership growth and improved industrial outcomes to
these campaigns (Cockfield and Lazaris 2007). Similarly, officials of the Victorian
Police Association (TVPA) argue the campaign entitled Cutting Police Numbers is
a Crime contributed to the electoral defeat of the conservative Kennett Government
in Victoria. Aside from these media campaigns, these unions have also sought to
build alliances with community groups.
The most developed public sector coalition exists between the Australian
Education Union (AEU), representing school teachers in the public sector, theVictorian Council of State School Organizations (VICCSO), and Parents Victoria,
who meet semi-regularly. The alliance dates back to the 1970s, but it became more
active and was formalized in the 1990s when the policies of the conservative Liberal
Government of Jeff Kennett threatened public education in Victoria. The alliance
deepened at a time when both the union and VICCSO had limited access to the gov-
ernment and school closures, increased class sizes, and greater use of contracts
undermined public education in Victoria. A distinguishing feature of the coalition is
the shared commitment to quality public education and the recognition by coalition
partners that decent working conditions are central to this objective. While the inter-ests of the AEU at times clash with community partners, the alliance is sustained
because the partners have mutual respect for one another and focus on areas of
agreement.
This formal alliance also has clear limitations that were offset by more informal,
locally based community alliances. Though the alliance increases the capacity of the
AEU to achieve its goals, it does not challenge the established positions of the part-
ner organizations, nor encourage grassroots participation. The limitations of the
alliance are most apparent over the issue of industrial action, which VICCSO and
Parents Victoria feel unable to support as they represent school management andparents. But like union leadership, community advocates are not necessarily repre-
sentative of the broader community. A campaign initiated in the community led to
the establishment of Parents Against Large Class Sizes (PALCS). This informal
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grassroots group, formed in response to Government funding cuts, openly supported
strike action by teachers. In this case the AEU benefits from the emergence of a new
community group with a different set of values from established groups. The grass-roots focus of the group also opened up space for parents and teachers to participate
in a joint campaign. Several school closures during the Kennett Government era also
prompted community-initiated and driven campaigns in which both parents and
teachers participated. These various alliances reflect an explicit community-focused
strategy by the AEU which has seen membership grow and member involvement in
union and community activities increase.
The recent efforts of the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) to build
alliances also highlight constraints imposed by sectional interests. The ANF has
participated in the Council of the Ageing and the Victorian Mental IllnessAwareness Council, as well as pursuing a high-profile media campaign on
increasing nursepatient ratios. In contrast to the AEU, the ANF has struggled to
build ongoing alliances with community groups. In some cases this is because
industrial issues clash more directly with key goals of the community partner,
limiting the usefulness of the alliance. For example, in midwifery the community
group is focused on extending services and is thus sensitive to cost increases in
service provision.
In some cases, an absence of organized community groups has inhibited the
development of alliances. In the health area, community groups have formed butare poorly organized and often short lived, which has affected the ANFs ability
to form longer-term alliances. The problem also confronts the AEU with respect
to the TAFE (further education) sector, where the lack of resources and transient
membership of TAFE student organizations make alliances problematic. Yet in
some cases this could be overcome by unions taking a proactive and strategic
approach, assisting in establishing and organizing a community group. This
appears to be more commonly done by unions in the private sector, probably
because groups with which alliances could be formed do not readily exist. For
example, the Victorian Independent Education Union (VIEU) organized primaryschool parents to push for greater government funding to private primary
schools.
In regional areas unions have shown more initiative in building community.
The TVPA campaigned in local communities on the need for extra police in grow-
ing regional areas. They used the mechanisms of local government, in particular
meetings in the local City Hall, to organize and mobilize community support. A
more passive approach to community building was the postal workers unions
(part of the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union) successful response to
the threatened closure of a suburban post office through a petition obtained whilepostal workers delivered the mail. In these examples the communities are initially
unorganized but share a common concern and the relationship that develops is
often reciprocal.
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Building Community Support: Private Sector Unions
The three public sector unions discussed above demonstrate clearly the relativeease with which unions in this sector can establish common ground with members
of the broader community through identifying shared interests: industrial interests
for the unions and members and social justice or welfare objectives for the commu-
nity. In contrast, unions operating in industries and sectors where the link between
work and public welfare is less direct and overt find it more difficult to frame indus-
trial issues within a broader community agenda. Nevertheless, there are several
examples where unions have built community support, most notably in regional
areas where the community is defined geographically.
There are several examples of unionscommunity relationships developing inresponse to workplace disputes in regional locations. Unions bring organizing
ability, advocacy, and expertise to alliances. In return, communities provide people
resources, support, and legitimacy. For example, during a five-month lockout of
Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) members at a Geelong
workplace, the local community, incorporating schools and shops, provided practi-
cal support through donating food, money, etc. and speaking publicly about the dis-
pute in the local community, in newspapers and on radio. One union official from the
TCFUA said,
Weve learnt I think through bitter experience that if you have those long battles and
strikes and disputes in a local community and you dont link into peoples families,
neighborhoods, and communities, then it really affects the ability of those workers to
survive it as well.
During a twenty-two-day strike by members of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU)
and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) at BHP-Billitons steel
manufacturing plant at Hastings, east of Melbourne, the local businesses and
members of the community supported the picketers with donations of food and vis-
its to the picket line. The driver of this support originated from the Hastings business
communitys fear that for every potential job loss at the plant, seven jobs in the
Hastings region would also be lost. An industrial campaign over job security for
three hundred workers threatened by outsourcing turned into the economic survival
of a regional town and saw the two unions involved receive business, church, and
public support.
While on the surface these alliances appear instrumental, they can encourage a
deep level of engagement from the union membership and community. However, the
limitations are also clear. Most notably, the unions appear to allow the alliances todissolve once the issue is dealt with rather than exploring the options for a sustained
relationship, as was the case in the examples above. Similarly, the Australian
Services Union (ASU) received unsolicited support from a range of community
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groups during a dispute over alcohol and drug testing at Qantas Airlines. Yet, recip-
rocal support was not offered to these groups nor were there efforts to build ongoing
communication and cooperation. It is generally more difficult for unions in the pri-vate sector to establish long-term links with the geographic community from which
they draw their members because the industrial objectives do not readily fit with
those of community groups for the long term. The issues at stake, while crucial to
the community, once solved do not easily promote ongoing formal alliances.
Building Community Support: The Birthof Independent Organizations
In some cases, coalitions driven by industrial issues have taken the form of inde-
pendent organizations. The AMIEU supported the formation and spread of the
PALE, now a group influential across Australia, and also the independent group
known as PACAT, again an organization whose influence has spread beyond a sin-
gle state to the rest of Australia. However, the best known and most successful in
Australia is the Fairwear Campaign, which aims to eliminate the exploitation of
homeworkers. To this end, this organization has been very successful in pressuring
government for legislative change, including mandatory codes of practice in NSW
and Victoria and the extension of employee rights to contract workers in the indus-try. The organization played a key role during the Senate Inquiry into the new indus-
trial relations laws and achieved amendments that protected rights for outworkers.
Fairwear Australia consists of a network of unions, churches, nongovernment orga-
nizations, and other community groups. The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Union
of Australia (TCFUA), which organizes workers in the clothing industry where
homeworkers are common, was instrumental in establishing Fairwear. However, the
union does not dominate the organization and has been willing to relinquish some
control over the campaign. Nevertheless, Fairwear and the union work closely
together and provide complimentary resources. The union provides expertise andknowledge about the industry and industrial relations while Fairwear provides media
coverage and legitimacy in addition to mobilizing the community. Another signifi-
cant factor in Fairwears success is the dynamic character of the organization as it
has allowed activists and people in the community and union to come through it and
move in and out of it or move away from it and then generate another round of
activists and people in it . . . (Union official, TCFUA 2005).
Independent union and community organizations that are locally based and rely on
community and rank-and-file union activists have arisen around Melbourne in
response to the Federal Governments industrial relations changes in 2005. Thesechanges led to a battle between unions and the Government to gain the support of the
community. The Government spent millions of dollars on a national advertising cam-
paign to promote the changes and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
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responded with its Your Rights at Work (YR@W) campaign targeted broadly at the
community. The unions campaigns against the changes have included several nation-
wide mass demonstrations. The second, the National Day of Community Protest inNovember 2005, saw approximately two hundred thousand people mobilize in
Melbourne. Subsequent demonstrations in 2006 drew smaller though still significant
numbers of people. Embryonic grassroots coalitions of community and union
activists have played a central role in organizing this community opposition.
Union Solidarity was formed in late 2004, with the support of several militant
unions, after the Federal Government announced its intention to introduce new indus-
trial relations laws targeting trade union action and involvement at workplaces. It is dri-
ven by active union members rather than union officials, though some officials and
organizers are involved, thus emphasizing that unions are not separate from the com-munity and that discussions of community unionism should regard the union movement
as part of the community and its interests as being those of part of the community. The
key organizer had a long history of union involvement and community activism, but
Solidarity remained independent of unions. Indeed, Union Solidarity recognized the
narrow base of unions and sought to build a broader base outside of organizing in the
workplace by drawing on support from a diverse range of people. It was set up to ensure
that the peak union organizations, the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) and
ACTU, did not take a step back from opposing the industrial relations laws. The focus
was spelt out clearly on the Union Solidarity Web site (www.unionsolidarity.org/):Union Solidarity has only one reason to exist: show solidarity to unions and commu-
nities taking action in opposition to the Howard Government attacks on our rights. This
extended beyond opposing the introduction of the legislation to fighting its implemen-
tation by employers, most notably through community assemblies on picket lines. In
addition, Solidarity branches played a key role in educating the community about the
legislation and its consequences through street stalls, public forums, and the like.
Union Solidarity consisted of autonomous branches established and sustained by
local activists, with a central branch providing limited coordination and support. In a
number of cases, such as the Western Suburbs branch discussed below, branches grewout of pre-existing community-based movements. Mostly the branches were geo-
graphically based and spread across metropolitan Melbourne, with the exception of
two regional branches and one interest-based branch representing community sector
workers. The branches operated with a degree of formality, holding regular meetings
and keeping minutes, though this varied across branches. In some cases branches even
opened bank accounts to manage monies raised through fundraising activities.
The Western Suburbs Unions and Community Coalition was the most success-
ful branch of Union Solidarity. This group began around the same time as the
Union Solidarity network, but existed independently initially before joining withSolidarity. While covering a broad area, the western suburbs include a number
of low socioeconomic areas with a strong working-class tradition. Headed by a
long-time community activist with strong links to the union movement, the aim
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of this group was to build a broad-based coalition of local community members,
local community groups, rank-and-file members, residents, and organizers who live
and work in the area (Representative, Western Suburbs Unions and CommunityCoalition 2005). The coalition focused on social justice issues and reaching people
beyond unionized and active workplaces, including Liberal Party voters who
opposed the industrial relations laws. Through street stalls and community
forums, which attracted several hundred people, the group played a central role
in raising awareness and educating the broader community about the industrial
relations legislation. Alongside these activities, the group also organized commu-
nity pickets to support industrial action by workers at local work sites. The group
was resource poor, relying on donations and the support of established local com-
munity groups and unions who printed and helped distribute leaflets and providedspeakers at meetings. With limited financial resource, the group relied heavily on
a core group of local activists that included individuals from unions, political par-
ties, and community organizations.
The elements contributing to the success of the Western Suburbs Group also high-
light the challenges the various branches of Union Solidarity faced. Broad-based
activism was central to the sustainability of the group and attracting a diverse base
was a key goal. The dual activities of the passive activism of informing and educat-
ing the public and the more militant activism associated with a community picket
allowed participants to choose their level of involvement and type of engagement,thus allowing both militant and moderate activists to participate. Nevertheless, the
group experienced tensions between radical left activists and other community
activists and group leaders were aware that dogmatic left positions could turn away
more moderate participants.
Alongside Union Solidarity were Your Rights @ Work (YR@W) groups estab-
lished and funded by the union movement under the aegis of the ACTU. Three
groups were established in Victoria. These groups had a more overtly political objec-
tivethe removal of the conservative Howard Governmentthan Union Solidarity.
Accordingly, they were geographically defined by electoral boundaries and situatedin marginal electorates. Their operation reflected an organizing approach with a paid
union organizing coordinating activities, though identify and training activists to
take control of the campaign was also important. They also built alliances with local
community groups but their activities were more limited than Union Solidarity
branches, eschewing the more militant activities of community pickets. Whereas
Union Solidarity drew some strength from its unofficial and indirect link to unions
and was able to undertake actions which may have had tacit but not official union
endorsement, the direct and explicit union involvement in the Your Rights @ Work
groups imposed constraints. The 2007 federal election results indicate the success ofthese groups, with significant swings to the Australian Labor Party in YR@W elec-
torates across Australia. However, it is too earlier to tell whether the alliances and
relationships built during the campaign will be sustained.
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These independent organizations highlight a number of issues that are relevant to
building successful and sustainable union-community relationships. First, in the case
of Union Solidarity, YR@W groups and Fairwear, industrial issues are entwined andinseparable from social justice concerns. This is in contrast to the emergence of
PALE and PACAT in the fight against live animal export where protection of meat-
workers jobs is not a concern of these groups even though their campaigns for ani-
mal rights will result in job security in the industry. Second, the groups are actively
seeking to shape values within the community but these values are shaped by polit-
ical struggles within the groups involved. Third, the coalitions are inclusive and
based on local participation. There is a level of independence which ensures it is
activists, not union leaders, who drive the agenda, although the union leadership may
formalize grass roots activities. Fourth, the leadership of individuals, or what Nissen(2004) refers to as bridge builders, has been important in driving these groups. The
politics of these individuals and their interactions with other activists were also cen-
tral to shaping the values and agenda of the groups. Of course, there are dangers in
relying to heavily on particular individuals. Here Fairwear offers important insights.
Coalitions must be dynamic. They have to allow people to move in and out of the
organization, allowing new ideas and initiatives to emerge and sustain enthusiasm.
This reinforces our earlier point regarding the question of politics and leadership in
unioncommunity organizations.
Supporting the Community: Charity Workor Community Unionism?
In contrast to the examples above, several unions are primarily focused on help-
ing the community rather than gaining industrial support. Here it is worth noting that
a distinction has been drawn between charity and alliance work with communi-
ties. Craft (1990) argues that, in the U.S. context, charity work characterized com-
munity work under business unionism, as opposed to being an example of socialjustice work. A distinction might be drawn between doing work with communities
rather than on or for communities. This is in contrast to Lipsig-Mummes (2003)
approach where she includes union charity work as part of her understanding of
community unionism because charity work has broader objectives reaching beyond
the workplace. Furthermore, the Victorian unions participating in charitable activi-
ties perceive their actions as community involvement because, for them, fundraising
and charitable actions toward community groups are carried out because unions and
members are part of the community and are engaging in these activities to strengthen
the community. Unions such as the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and EnergyUnion (CFMEU) and the ETU, which sponsor local sporting clubs and raise money
for them, regard these activities as building genuine communityunion partnerships,
notas charity. The AMIEU, which raises funds for regional aged-care facilities,
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engages in these activities because its members have aged relatives requiring care in
these areas and the union sees an opportunity to assist in regional development of
facilities as a means of strengthening its position within these communities whereslaughterhouses provide employment for large number of workers. Furthermore, the
concept of business unionism is anathema to these unions, so the discounting of tra-
ditional union charity work as part of community unionism in Victoria does not hold
the same validity as argued by Craft for the U.S. unions. Instead, Victorian unions
are more likely to regard their charitable activities as what Craft (1990) refers to as
community service but not as part of business unionism.
Several unions, primarily from the private sector, have built alliances around
charity and community service because this offers these unions a greater opportu-
nity to access community members, access which has otherwise been difficult forthem to gain. The Construction Division of the CFMEU has appointed a commu-
nity liaison officer, produced a handbook for shop stewards encouraging commu-
nity work, and is deliberately placing greater emphasis on building community
relationships within the union journal. Similarly, the ETU has surveyed members
regarding their participation in various community organizations with a view to
formalizing these links at the grassroots level and also leadership levels. The
CFMEU has initiated several charitable programs. The most successful involves
raising money at local worksites to provide breakfast for children in forty-seven
disadvantaged primary schools. This program also includes the participation ofother unions on building sites and is implemented with the assistance and support
of the teachers union, the AEU, parents, church groups, and community organi-
zations. Another endeavor entails members donating old work coats (blueys) to the
Sacred Heart Mission for distribution to homeless people. Notably, both examples
were initiated by rank-and-file members and a notable feature of the CFMEUs
assistance is the involvement of organizers and local delegates in the delivery of
support.
A related type of charitable activity has involved unions facilitating and orga-
nizing initiatives that encourage members to use their skills for community bene-fit. VIEU, which represented teachers in independent schools, has participated in
a program to raise money and provide educational services to East Timor. The
union has raised $AUD70,000 and used this to fund members to travel to East
Timor and work as teachers. Though not overtly aimed at recruitment or organiz-
ing, an outcome of the VIEUs East Timor program has been the recruitment of
teachers attracted to the program and greater participation in the union by
members involved in the program. Similarly, the ETU is involved in the Phoenix
Fridge Program where members recondition old refrigerators, making them more
fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, and distribute them to low-incomehouseholds.
While these sorts of strategies go beyond the simple charitable action or
donation, they are nevertheless aimed at ameliorating the worst excesses of class
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society rather than confronting their cause. Although they reflect and reinforce a
set of broad social values within the union, their material benefits are far more
limited. For example, for the CFMEU, a clear purpose of these acts is to chal-lenge the public perception of the CFMEU and its members as militant thugs.
Yet, despite the unions efforts, the media has ignored the initiative and
consequently the union has had no success in gaining wider recognition of this
community contribution.
The CFMEU, along with the AMWU, the ETU, the ASU, and the Maritime
Union of Australia (MUA), have also used their industrial strength to support par-
ticular community issues. For the CFMEU, ETU, and AMWU, this has most often
involved supporting local communities resist inappropriate development through
banning work on these sites. The ASU took a stand against Indonesias occupa-tion of East Timor and members in the freight section banned all incoming freight
from Indonesia off Garuda Airlines. The MUA was also active in limiting loading
and unloading of Indonesian registered vessels during the Indonesian East Timor
occupation and has refused to load the so-called ships of shame that ply the
worlds oceans with crews who are not allowed to leave the often only marginally
seaworthy vessels for shore leave and who are paid below a living wage. Of
course, this type of action is not new, and several unions have a history of using
their industrial power for political purposes (see for example, Burgmann and
Burgmann 1998). However, the argument can be made that these activities areindeed community unionism: for the community the benefits are clear. In addition
to industrial power, the unions also bring skills and expertise in campaigning that
assist community organization and mobilization. Both the CFMEU and ETU
noted the importance of the community taking ownership of the campaign and
being actively involved. In contrast, the value of union participation is less obvi-
ous and more contested. There is a question mark over whether this support
should or can be reciprocated by the various communities. As interviewees noted,
in these alliances the unions possess the power and strength and the communities
turn to the unions often after they have exhausted all other options. Nevertheless,union involvement does indicate a union willing to move beyond narrow indus-
trial concerns to broader social justice objectives. Furthermore, these actions
require the active participation and support of members. This is not unproblem-
atic. One interviewee acknowledged, . . . to be honest with you, most commu-
nity issues we fight involve us telling our members theyre not allowed to work.
Nothing but grief. Members do not necessarily share the progressive views of
their elected officials, particularly when there are economic consequences; also
leadership may not share the progressive view of members. Leadership and union
identity are important issues driving union participation in these alliances. Wheresuch actions take place, they link industrial methods with political and social
issues and thus breakdown the socially constructed divide common under social
democratic unionism.
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The Role of Peak State-Based Union Organization
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) response to the FederalGovernments industrial relations changes is a clear example of a successful com-
munity campaign. The YR@W campaign was a broad-based media campaign that
included television, radio, and newspaper advertisements; mass rallies; and various
local workplace and community events. The campaign united various community
organizations, including church groups, in opposition to the legislative changes. It
sought to raise awareness of the legislation and its consequences and resulted in
widespread community support. As a result, industrial relations became a key issue
in the 2007 federal election and a contributing factor to the defeat of the conserva-
tive Liberal-National Coalition Government.Echoing literature in the United States and United Kingdom on central labor
councils promoting union and community alliances (Gapasin and Wial 1998; Ness
and Eimer 2001; Wills 2001), the peak state-based union organization, the VTHC,
has established alliances with various community groups, including church groups,
Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS), and civil liberties groups, with vary-
ing degrees of success. One success was the Victorian Peace Network, which existed
from 2002 to 2006 and brought together a diverse range of groups around a core set
of principles related to obtaining and sustaining peace. Less successful was the
VTHC-initiated Fair Australia, a coalition of unions, church, and communitygroups brought together to campaign on education, health, and justice with the aim
of attracting middle-class support. The coalition fell apart when the dominance of
left groups within the alliance and VTHC led to the adoption of a more radical
agenda that clashed with the more conservative values of several alliance partners.
Other political considerations also hindered building and sustaining alliances. Union
ties to the Australian Labor Party raised issues for the Uniting Church, which was
concerned about being seen to endorse a political party. For other community
groups, issues of funding complicated their ability to be involved and publicly asso-
ciated with unioncommunity coalitions in opposition to the Government. Forexample, a coalition with Community Legal Centers fell apart when it became
apparent federal funding could be threatened. Nevertheless, the VTHC has sustained
a more modest alliance of union and community groups through the Roundtable
Network which meets regularly to discuss issues of mutual concern. These alliances
have led to successful rallies and forums and allowed cross fertilization with unions
speaking at peace and refugee events and community leaders speaking to, and sup-
porting, union forums. They have also resulted in a more coordinated approach
toward influencing government social policy.
These broad alliances provide a number of benefits to unions. The inclusion of pro-gressive church groups, civil liberty groups, etc. in these coalitions provides unions
with access to a broader section of the community, though this is not one way as com-
munity leaders also get to appeal to union members. The support of community leaders
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also gives unions added legitimacy, both in the community and in representations to
government. However, these benefits are restricted by the nature of the alliance, which
consists of union and community leaders with limited direct involvement of rank-and-file union or community members. Several interviewees questioned the level of com-
mitment and awareness of their broader memberships. As one interviewee admitted
Ive got no idea of the extent to which the peak bodies are including their broader con-
stituency in some of the issues that were working on. Another described such initia-
tives as the VTHC Round Table as leaders endorsing leaders and added I think what
works a lot more is where you actually get voices from the community itself. . . . This
is not to suggest that coalitions driven by officials are unimportant or ineffective.
Rather, different forms of coalitions have different purposes. Those driven by officials
oscillate between being coalitions of influence and coalitions of protest (see Frege,Heery, and Turner 2004). In respect of the former, the VTHC Roundtable has achieved
some success influencing the social policies of the Victorian Government. However,
on its own, this level of participation will not necessarily mobilize and activate union
and community members.
Conclusions: Toward Community Unionism
The contemporary political and economic environment provides a conducive cli-mate for unioncommunity relationships, but also renders such relationships more
important. What emerges from our research is an awareness by unions of the impor-
tance of community and commitment to building links. Our data demonstrate
the diversity in the purpose, form, and sustainability of relationships developing
between unions and various community groups and organizations. The extent and
type of member participation in the alliance also varies across unions and the type
of alliance, as does the level of leadership commitment. Some unions engage more
systematically and successfully than others. Some, such as the public sector AEU,
ANF, and TVPA, have greater opportunity for alliance building because they providea service direct to the public. However, our research demonstrates private sector
unions can also build strong community ties when they embrace a deliberate strat-
egy to connect with the community.
All the alliances provided some benefit to either the union or the community, or
both, but not all provide the basis for renewal, which we argue has a political agenda.
This involves unions, often working with community groups, reshaping community
values and setting a new social agenda where industrial issues are entwined and
inseparable from social justice concerns. Many of the examples discussed demon-
strate how industrial issues can be framed in a broad social justice framework. Publicsector unions appear to have an advantage because they can link the work members
do directly to the type and quality of services provided to the public. However,
unions in the private sector can also frame issues broadly, as demonstrated by the
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AMIEUs alliance with animal rights groups to prevent live animal exports and the
various alliances that formed to build opposition to the WorkChoices legislation.
There are also several examples where community issues are framed as industrialissues. The participation of unions in the construction industry in campaigns against
inappropriate development is one example. Even the various forms of charity, such
as VIEUs East Timor education program, serve to highlight the relationship
between union memberswork and social outcomes. In all these examples unions are
seeking to redefine social values but contests occur as the sectional interests of both
unions and community groups remain present and at times dominant. In essence,
unions engage in a struggle to define a new community identity.
This raises important issues about the nature of community, in particularly, who
is part of the the community and how is community identity defined. Overcomingsectional interests demands an inclusive approach to community that engages
union members and the broader community. It is widespread support and participa-
tion that provides the movement for change and it is coalition building at the local
level that is most likely to elicit this broad support. In contrast, coalitions that con-
sist of union and community leaders and have little direct involvement of rank-and-
file unionists or community members do not necessarily have the support and
commitment of those the leaders represent. This is not to suggest that leadership is
unimportant or that coalitions driven by officials are ineffective, rather they have dif-
ferent purposes and objectives. What appears to be important is engagement at var-ious scales of union organization in ways that are mutually enforcing. Movements,
such as Union Solidarity and the public education campaign of PALCS provide cam-
paigns initiated at a higher level with a dynamism and drive that only comes from
grassroots participation. In turn, these grassroots movements benefit from the sup-
port and coordination provided by leaders operating at broader scale. In particular,
union leadership is important in shaping and setting the political agenda of the
union. Nevertheless, we concur with Tattersall (2005) that it is locally based coali-
tions that offer the most potential to engage broadly across a range of communities
and build an identity around social justice principles that can challenge the domi-nance of neoliberal restructuring.
Unions are part of the community; members live and work in communities.
Hence, unions cannot be entities whose actions exist in isolation without wider
impact. The current wave of interest in union and community coalitions reflects this
position. But how unions view their communities can shape their extent and form of
engagement. Community unionism can operate at different scalar levels and need
not necessarily involve workplace organization or rank and file members. While by
definition community unionism has a community engagement element at its core, it
need not necessarily have an overt radical or social justice based agenda. However,if community unionism is to be a new model for union renewal, unions must
embrace a political agenda which expands the traditional approach to industrial
issues and embraces a participative and inclusive approach to community.
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Interviews
UnionsAustralian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch.
Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Victorian Branch.
Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) Victorian Branch.
Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) Communications Division, Victorian Postal and
Telecommunications Branch.
Victorian Independent Education Union (VIEU).
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Construction DivisionVictorian Branch.
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) Victorian Branch.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) Victorian Branch.
Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) Victorian Branch.
The Victorian Police Association (TVPA).
Community Groups
Socialist Alliance.
Refugee Action Collective.
Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS).
Western Suburbs Unions and Community Coalition
Justice and International Mission Unit.
Union Solidarity
Your Rights at Work Campaign (Deakin)
Your Rights at Work Campaign (LaTrobe)
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Sandra Cockfield, PhD, is a lecturer in the Department of Management, Monash University, Australia.
Her research interests include social movement unionism, union renewal strategies, and the regulation of
workplace industrial relations.
Marjorie Jerrard, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the Department of Management, Monash University. Her
research interests are industrial relations and HRM issues in the meat processing industry, trade union
strategy, and diversity management and trade unions.
Donna Buttigieg is an associate professor in the School of Business and EconomicsGippsland, Monash
University. Her research interests are union and organisational commitment; union participation and
turnover; absenteeism and turnover; HRM and performance; and issues affecting vulnerable workers
(ageing workers, women, bullying, homeworkers).
Al Rainnie is professor and director of Research at the Centre for Labour Market Studies at LeicesterUniversity, UK. Al has researched and written widely in the fields of globalization, work, employment,
regional development, and trade union organization. He has published and co-edited books on work and
industrial relations in small firms, regional and employment restructuring in Central Europe, public sec-
tor restructuring, and community unionism. Current research interests include work, space and place,
social movement unionism, as well as trade unionism and community engagement.
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