Towards a Politics of the Rainbow : Self-Organization in the Trade Union Movement

This title was first published in 2002: By retracing the history of the trade union movement in twentieth-century Britain from the perspective of society’s marginalized members - women, disabled people, lesbians and gay men and people from black and ethnic minority communities - this book examines how previously marginalized members are becoming mainstream workers in the contemporary labour market. It will be essential reading for students of political sociology and industrial relations.

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.