“Without union power, there is no way of pursuing your policy goals”: when do labor unions use political mobilization as a revitalization strategy?

Abstract

In response to membership decline, trade unions have attempted a number of revitalization strategies. One of these is political campaigning. If used as a revitalization strategy, political campaigns are not just employed because the union desires a specific policy outcome but also as a way to convince new members to join the union. Drawing from the literature on both union revitalization and interest group strategies more in general, we seek to explain why some unions attempt this revitalization strategy where others do not. We use a controlled comparison of two trade union federations in the same country facing the same membership pressures to determine which factor or factors contribute to using this strategy. One trade union organized a campaign to increase the minimum wage specifically to boost its membership (the #Voor14 campaign), while the other did not. On the basis of interviews with key actors in both unions, we identify a key factor in determining union strategic choices: some groups risk their relations with the government and employers to gain more power at the negotiation table, while others believe that expanding membership is not worth risking the relations with the government and employers.