Retaining and Growing Membership Alex Bryson (NIESR) Unions 21 GS Meeting 9 th December2009

Overview What is union membership? – The old ways: union values and solidarity – The new ways? the value of membership to employees Employers: a complex ‘sell’ Union finances What to do/think about?

The decline (1): density and coverage Membership densityBargaining coverage Base: employees in workplaces with 25+ employees Source: WERS

The decline (2): number of shop stewards Base: shop stewards of recognised trade unions in workplaces with 25+ employees Source: Forth and Charlwood (2009) using WERS

Union membership is...values and solidarity It can work: mobilisation theory How to inculcate this? – Among the young: 50%+ employees are ‘never-members’ – 80% private sector workplaces have no union Even higher among new/younger workplaces [ACTUAL %] – Increasing % of union members are professionals/non-manuals Breakdown of transmission mechanisms – Parents – Communities – Colleagues – Declining density even where unions are organized

Union membership is...a decision to be made Costs and benefits Closed shop=union the default; reputational cost if not union Not so any more: have to win workers over Selling points – Equity; grievance handling; wages wellbeing; WLB; training BUT – Hard to perceive (experience needed) – Often resort to in crisis/when problem (eg. teachers) – Rarely meet the union in ‘good times’ Is cost an issue?

Employers....A Complex ‘Sell’ Usually apathetic rather than hostile Union effects have changed since the 1980s – Employment growth – Productivity/profitability – Union effectiveness associated with employer perceptions of better performance – Positive association with high involvement management Climate – Still associated with conflict but less pronounced – But also voice for workers which solves grievances, reduces quits

Stoppages and Employment Tribunal Claims: Stoppage Days Employment Tribunal Claims Registered

Expressions of conflict, by ‘voice’ Any industrial action Any grievances ET claimsVoluntary resignations Relations between managers and employees % of workplaces Claims per 1,000 employee s Resignations per 100 employees % of employees rating ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ Union voice only Union and non-union voice Non-union voice only No voice* All work- places Base: all workplaces with 5+ employees Source: Dix, Forth and Sisson (2009) using WERS

Union Capacity to Deliver Union finances – Loss of revenue from subs due to union density decline – No substantial gains from merger Cost of servicing membership has grown – Increase in individual grievances – Fall in N reps per member High costs of organising Employee perceptions of union effectiveness poor: – fewer than 3/5 of union members thought that the union(s) at their workplace were taken seriously by management – <1/2 thought unions made a difference to what it was like to work there But on-site shop stewards positively affect workers' perceptions of union effectiveness

It’s a new world Bankers/financiers/free market are done for a while – Opportunity for unions to take initiative, especially if Tory government – Unions as the voice of eg. Americans for Financial Reform: Accountability, Fairness, Security ( New opportunities to organise and service – Working America working through the community – Networks to support union reps Considering how to sell membership – How can unions become ‘default’? Opt out not opt in (cf. pensions) Experiment with the package on offer – Price of membership and service offered