TY - JOUR
T1 - Trade Unions and the 2016 UK European Union Referendum
AU - Fitzgerald, Ian
AU - Beadle, Ron
AU - Rowan, Kevin
PY - 2022/2/1
Y1 - 2022/2/1
N2 - This article reports on pre and post interviews with trade union leaders and senior Trades Union Congress (TUC) and union officials who held campaign responsibilities for the 2016 UK European Union (EU) Referendum. The article considers the development of union policy towards the EU, the determination of unions’ final positions, campaign resources and media, the arguments made and the drivers of and constraints upon active campaigning. Campaign intensity, resourcing and strategic decision-making varied widely across unions and was frustrated by resource constraints, fear of alienating members and in some cases lack of priority. The article concludes that unions must be better prepared to commit material resources and national officers’ time so that campaign issues are effectively framed in terms of member concerns.
AB - This article reports on pre and post interviews with trade union leaders and senior Trades Union Congress (TUC) and union officials who held campaign responsibilities for the 2016 UK European Union (EU) Referendum. The article considers the development of union policy towards the EU, the determination of unions’ final positions, campaign resources and media, the arguments made and the drivers of and constraints upon active campaigning. Campaign intensity, resourcing and strategic decision-making varied widely across unions and was frustrated by resource constraints, fear of alienating members and in some cases lack of priority. The article concludes that unions must be better prepared to commit material resources and national officers’ time so that campaign issues are effectively framed in terms of member concerns.
KW - European Union Referendum
KW - migration
KW - social Europe
KW - trade union policy and campaigns
U2 - 10.1177/0143831X19899483
DO - 10.1177/0143831X19899483
M3 - Article
VL - 43
SP - 388
EP - 409
JO - Economic and Industrial Democracy
JF - Economic and Industrial Democracy
SN - 0143-831X
IS - 1
ER -