Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?

This article provides a case study of union change in an environment in which radical school restructuring is taking place, and active strategies to weaken and marginalize organized teachers are being pursued by the state. The case study union is the National Union of Teachers in England. The articl...

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Main Author: Stevenson, Howard
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42949/
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author Stevenson, Howard
author_facet Stevenson, Howard
author_sort Stevenson, Howard
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description This article provides a case study of union change in an environment in which radical school restructuring is taking place, and active strategies to weaken and marginalize organized teachers are being pursued by the state. The case study union is the National Union of Teachers in England. The article explores a number of different strategies open to teacher unions, utilizing a framework provided by Turner (2004). Drawing on data collected at a national level, and in three local authority areas, I argue that the National Union of Teachers’ response to the erosion of collective bargaining is best presented as an amalgam of strategies focused on workplace organizing, political campaigning, and coalition building. The data demonstrate considerable congruence between national and local strategies, although local data reveal considerable challenges in implementation and consequently considerable unevenness in local experiences.
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spelling nottingham-429492020-05-04T17:22:31Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42949/ Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”? Stevenson, Howard This article provides a case study of union change in an environment in which radical school restructuring is taking place, and active strategies to weaken and marginalize organized teachers are being pursued by the state. The case study union is the National Union of Teachers in England. The article explores a number of different strategies open to teacher unions, utilizing a framework provided by Turner (2004). Drawing on data collected at a national level, and in three local authority areas, I argue that the National Union of Teachers’ response to the erosion of collective bargaining is best presented as an amalgam of strategies focused on workplace organizing, political campaigning, and coalition building. The data demonstrate considerable congruence between national and local strategies, although local data reveal considerable challenges in implementation and consequently considerable unevenness in local experiences. Taylor & Francis 2015-11-18 Article PeerReviewed Stevenson, Howard (2015) Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”? Journal of School Choice, 9 (4). pp. 604-625. ISSN 1558-2167 Social movement unionism Teacher unions Union change Union organizing http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15582159.2015.1080054 doi:10.1080/15582159.2015.1080054 doi:10.1080/15582159.2015.1080054
spellingShingle Social movement unionism
Teacher unions
Union change
Union organizing
Stevenson, Howard
Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title_full Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title_fullStr Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title_full_unstemmed Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title_short Teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
title_sort teacher unionism in changing times: is this the real “new unionism”?
topic Social movement unionism
Teacher unions
Union change
Union organizing
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42949/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42949/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42949/