ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to sustain a dual focus upon the two phases of explosive growth in union membership and collective militancy in 1888-91 and 1911-14 and to trace the processes of transition over the intervening decades. It outlines some of the parallels and divergences between the two periods of upsurge. The chapter examines the debate on the nature and significance of the New Unionism in the light of the broader patterns of unionization and strike activity in the late 1880s. It summarizes the decline and transformation of the New Unions after their initial successes, again relating their experience to the wider context of British unionism. The chapter assesses the sources and implications of the 'Labour unrest' of the immediate prewar years, considering in particular how far these events may be regarded as a repeat of the earlier experience. It also surveys current views on the struggles and organizations of 'general labour', traditionally symbolized by the London dock strike of 1889.
