New unionism is a term used to describe moves to broaden the trade union agenda. It has been used twice in the history of the labor movement. Ben Tillett was a prominent leader of the London Dock strike of 1889. He formed the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Laborers' Union in 1889, which had support from skilled workers. Its 30,000 members won an advance in wages and working conditions.[1][2][3]
They were generally less exclusive than craft unions and attempted to recruit a wider range of workers. To encourage more workers to join, the new unions kept their entrance fees and contributions at a relatively low level. Some new unions, such as the Dockers' Union and the gasworkers developed in the direction of general unionism.
They recruited unskilled and semi-skilled workers, such as dockers, seamen, gasworkers and general laborers
Later, the traditional view of the new unions as militant, fighting unions informed by socialist politics was modified.[citation needed] Although the new unions sponsored many large strikes in their early years, most, in fact, favored conciliation and accommodation. Similarly, although new union leaders espoused socialism, it was often of a moderate kind.[citation needed]
In 1988, US labour relations academic Charles Heckscher published The New Unionism: Employee Involvement in the Changing Corporation,[4] one of a series of influential papers that encouraged the union movement to reconsider questions of industrial democracy. The UK Trades Union Congress ran an ambitious new unionism project from 1997 to 2003, seeking to apply a dual strategy of organizing and partnership in an attempt to reinvigorate the movement. The decline in union membership ended, but the net effect is still subject to debate within the movement.[5]
An international new unionism network was launched in 2007 to bring unionists and labor supporters together around developing and applying these principles. The network provides fora and other resources for those interested in implementing the agenda.[citation needed][needs update]
^ Derek Matthews, "1889 and All That: New Views on the New Unionism." International Review of Social History 36#1 (1991): 24-58
^Keith Laybourn, A History of British Trade Unionism (1992) pp 72-76
^A. E. P. Duffy, "New Unionism in Britain, 1889-1890: A Reappraisal," Economic History Review (1961) 14#2 pp 306-319
^Jacoby, Sanford M. (1989). "Review of The New Unionism: Employee Involvement in the Changing Corporation by Charles C. Heckscher". Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 42 (3): 463–465. ISSN0019-7939. JSTOR2523406.
