ABSTRACT

This title was first published in 2002: The trade union movement in twentieth-century Britain has been a cornerstone for society’s marginalized members - women, disabled people, lesbians and gay men and people from black and ethnic minority communities. As these groups of workers self-organized to reform their unions, they built a bridge between the old social movement based around class position and labour identity and the new social movements based around civil rights and status stratifications. This book presents a detailed look at self-organization within public sector unions through the emergence of four self-organized groups within NALGO and later, UNISON. Drawing upon unique insider knowledge of the alliances and antipathies between the self-organized groups and the host union, the book also provides fascinating revelations of the tensions between self-organized groups themselves. This study will be essential reading for students of political sociology and industrial relations.

part 1|63 pages

The Rain Clouds

chapter 1|30 pages

Trade Unions and Civil Rights

chapter 2|31 pages

Oppression and its Overcoming

part 2|85 pages

The Creation of a Rainbow

chapter 3|22 pages

The NALGO Experiment

chapter 4|29 pages

The UNISON Constitution

chapter 5|31 pages

Some Separatist Dilemmas

part 3|77 pages

The Colour Purple

chapter 6|24 pages

Out of the Workplace Closet

chapter 7|24 pages

Out and About in the Union

chapter 8|27 pages

Some Feminist Dilemmas

part 4|44 pages

Beneath and Beyond the Rainbow

chapter 9|21 pages

Reflections from the Field

chapter 10|20 pages

Reflections for the Future