New solidarities: organised and organising precarious workers from a UK perspective – Jane Hardy

New solidarities: organised and organising precarious workers from a UK perspective Professor Jane Hardy, University of Hertfordshire

Structure of talk • The political context of the debate • Background to British labour market • The debate about new solidarities • The mixed experience of ‘community unionism’ in the United States • Comparing the Sports Direct and McDonalds disputes • New forms of precarious work – the university lecturers strike

The debate about precarious work in political context

The End of the Working Class Thesis ‘Farewell

to the working class’ Andre Gorz • 1960s sociological study of car workers concluded ‘too comfortable’ • had become middle class and individualised New version • ‘The structure of advanced capitalism has shifted from manufacturing to the service sector • Britain experienced sharp decrease in manufacturing (20 per cent) decline in traditional areas

New (and pessimistic) discourses • Erosion of traditional communities • Decrease in feelings of solidarity • The notion of the ‘neoliberal self’ – building individual human capital • Young people are not interested in politics – the ‘me generation’

Challenging UK industrial relations landscape

• Union density 32 per cent in 1995 to 25 per cent in 2015 • Public sector 55 per cent, private sector 14 per cent • Highest unionisation - women (marginally), older, indigenous and professional workers.

• 29 per cent covered by collective bargaining • Public sector two-thirds workers covered– usually industry level • Private sector lower at company & workplace level

Intersection of migrant workers & precarious work

• Percentage of ‘foreign born persons’ in UK workforce from 7 per cent in 1992 to 17 per cent in 2015 • Jump in after 2004 Central and Eastern economies joined EU - factories/warehouses (40 per cent), food & hospitality (28 per cent).

• Intersection of migrant workers, precarious jobs under representation of trade unions in private sector.

What do we mean by precarious work?

• Insecure contracts (zero hours contracts) • Use of employment agencies • Poor employment rights (2 years before unfair dismissal can be claimed) • Use (abuse) of self-employment (Deliveroo, Uber) Debate about legal definitions and measurement!

New debate from 2000 onwards: from class solidarity to community solidarity

•Living wage campaign in London •Recruitment and engagement of migrant workers after 2004

Case 1 – Campaign for the Living Wage Started in 2001 by East London Citizens group

Successful in getting some firms to commit to Living Wage Involves community groups. trade unions, businesses, churches, mosques, charities Emphasises the moral case and benefits to businesses The issue of class is sidelined as “workers’ issues have been recast as community wide concerns read through the lens of community, immigration , and race and religion’.

Case 2 – Engaging with new groups of migrant workers ‘thinking outside the box’

Using Unionlearn, 2008

Solidarity versus hostility (posted workers issue)

January 2009: Construction worker on 20 sites

Counteracting xenophobic discourses

Workers Centres in the United States • Combined wider issues – housing, regularisation • 2005 – 137 centres in the US, 122 immigrant workers centres

Janice Fine ‘Over the course of conducting the study, I was struck by how little workers’ centres utilised the potential economic power of low wage immigrant workers themselves’.

A tale of organising precarious workers in two companies Sport Direct Warehouse, Shirebrook , Midlands

McDonalds

Shirebrooke Colliery closed 1993

Reclaimed for development at a cost of ÂŁ24 million (from government) Sports Direct

Sports Direct – Context and background • 3,000 – 5,000 migrant workers supplied by two employment agencies (£50 million per year) • Zero hours contracts and below minimum wage • Bullying - unpaid security search after each shift • Punitive ‘six strikes and you’re out’ • Agency supplied ‘pre-paid debit’ cards and ‘insurance’ at high cost • Health and Safety poor – 110 calls for ambulances 2013 -2016 (50 life threatening conditions)

Strategy of UNITE the Union 3 million members, 25 sections, regional and sectoral Initiative from full timer in Midlands Mobilised; 1. Community solidarity 2. International solidarity 3. Institutional solidarity 4. Associative solidarity

Community solidarity

• Unemployed workers union • Under 30s young Unite members • Unite Community Union (retired members) • Local union branches

International solidarity • UNI Europa trade union affiliates representing Sport Direct workers in Belgium and Austria flew to the UK to join actions. • Started talks with the British trade union to start a trade union coordination network in order to share their experiences and bring solidarity across borders.

Institutional solidarity • Lobbied Members of Parliament (particularly Labour Party) • Lobbied shareholder meetings

• Newspaper coverage • BBC documentary • Worked with charities ‘War on Want’

Associative solidarity

• Stunts and actions

Outcomes •House of Commons Report (2016) •Employer Mike Ashley promised changes (end of 6 strikes policy, nurse, 1 worker representative) •Established Unite union branch with modest membership •Many promises undelivered (zero hours contracts still widely used).

Contribution to a narrative about work in the UK “we contributed to a narrative around work and employment that tapped into debates about how people are treated at work” (union full-timer) Taylor Report (2017) Aims; • Tackling exploitation and the potential for exploitation at work; • Increasing clarity in the law and helping people know and exercise their rights;

McDonalds context • Minimum wage • Zero hours contracts and insecure employment • Bullying and health and safety issues • Workers a mixture indigenous and migrant • Full spectrum of age range

Organising in fast food sector sector • Organiser one full-timer from Baker, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) – task ‘organising’ • Small union (22,000) which punches above its weight (already successes with zero hours contracts) • In McDonalds tried ‘trial and error’ tactics • 10,000 leaflets distributed – negligible results.

Solidarities mobilised by BFAWU 1.Internal solidarity from striking workers 2.Community solidarity for strike 3.International solidarity

Internal solidarity • Two branches selected • Cambridge and Crayford went out on strike on Global Fast Food Day of Action (September 2017) • Strong local leaders • Bullying local management

Community solidarity • Trades council (local association of unions) • Support teachers, firefighters trade unions • Labour Party • People’s Assembly (broad progressive movement)

International solidarity – knowledge transfer • Visit to US (SEIU) Service Employees International Union • “Learned how to talk to workers and move them into action” • Use of ‘wraps’ or ‘scripts’ encourage awareness of own exploitation, • Encouraging self-reflection – not telling ‘anger, organising, action’

Outcomes I • First strike in the UK • Two managers sacked Modest compared with; • collective agreement in Germany and Denmark (still does not bargain with British Trade unions) • US national strike of fast food workers 2014, 2015 Extent of delivery of regular hours ambiguous (awaiting statistics from McDonalds)

Outcomes II BUT UPWARD TRAJECTORY AFTER STRIKE;

• Concessions in striking branches (rotation of duties) • Expanded organisational capacity • 3 more full-timers • Volunteer groups (35 groups) – community activists under 30 make first contact, collect cards of commitment and refer to full-timers • Effective targeted advertising on Facebook cost effective in identifying activists • 1st May strikes in 5 branches!

Conceptualising the micro politics of organising

Internal versus external solidarity

Sports Direct

Associative power (External) • Trade union intervention from outside (Unite the Union)

Wider solidariities •

• •

Barriers to and opportunties for solidarity

Community unionism (Unite the Union) Charities, football supporters International support

McDonalds Structural power (Internal) • Workplace solidarity • (BFAWU) • Local Trades Council& individual unions • Volunteer groups • International knowledge transfer

• Language was a barrier to solidarity • Use of ‘scripts’ / ‘wraps’ between migrant workers and TUs by to build awareness • Workers were object of exploitation • Workers were the in discourses of TUs, parliament and subject of contesting

New Forms of Precarious Workers: University Lecturers on Strike

The Issue • Proposal to privatise pensions • Huge losses £40,000 on retirement • February/March 2018 14 days strikes (£1300 loss of pay)

The Strikes Lively, young, militant Large participation Tapped into precarious contracts & marketisation Teach outs for students

The Outcome General Secretary (a)used her position to get a ‘Yes’ vote for a ‘poor deal’ and call off action Action stopped before exams when it would have hit Employers

Issues

Anger among activist

Democratise union for activists to have a stronger voice

New militant grassroots organisations in union

Build grassroots activism

Deal with uneven nature of participation

Reflections • Resource intensity – internal debate within union(s) • Servicing existing members versus ‘hard to reach’ potential members • Sustainability on reliance of associative power rather bottom up mobilisation and organising and selforganising • Nature and depth of community solidarity • Revitalisation of young activists in TU issues • Building activism & democratic unions