The fall and rise of organising in a blue-collar union

This paper analyses the introduction of the organising philosophy into the largest branch of a national, blue-collar, manufacturing union. It outlines the initial adoption of this philosophy and examines the reasons for the failure of this innovation. Some ?ve years later, a second, more successful attempt to introduce the organising model was made. The factors determining this success are analysed in the paper presented here and comparisons are made with the earlier failed attempt. The paper argues that the level of commitment and zeal of the unions¿ leadership was the crucial factor in determining the extent and culture of organising.