Strategies for Union Renewal in Challenging Times: Case Studies and Insights

Changing unions in challenging times: international case studies in union renewal Howard Stevenson, University of Nottingham Presentation to EI ResNet meeting, Brussels 12thMay 2016 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 1

Agenda: Some frameworks The case studies Our initial lines of inquiry Your thoughts, comments, questions and feedback 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 2

Good teaching is . . . Business Capital Model: Professional Capital Model: Emotionally demanding but technically simple Requires only moderate intellectual ability Hard at first, but easily mastered Driven by data about what works Due to enthusiasm, raw talent, hard work Often replaceable by online instruction Technically sophisticated and difficult Requires high levels of education and long periods of training Perfected through continuous improvement Based on wise judgement, informed by evidence and experience Reflects collective effort and achievement Maximises, mediates and moderates online instruction Adapted from Hargreaves and Fullan (2012:14)

The times they are a-changin . . . Teachers don t join a union instinctively in the way my generation did. Union general secretary 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 4

Unions and change: identifying strategies Labour-management partnerships Political action Reform of union structures Coalition-building International solidarity Turner (2004:4) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 5

Changing unions . . . Change strategy Approach to reform Union form Rapprochement Work with . . . No change Work against . . . No change Resistance Work against . . . Change Renewal Carter, Stevenson and Passy (2010) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 6

The challenge shifting the activist base Activist: regularly attend INTO meetings/campaigns etc., encourage others in my school, keep up-to-date with most INTO issues Engaged: attend some meetings, read Intouch and/or check the INTO website and am generally aware of INTO issues Connected: I don t attend INTO meetings but I regularly read Intouch and/or check the INTO website Disconnected: I don t attend INTO meetings, I seldom/never read Intouch and/or check the INTO website 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 7

A new democratic professionalism Transactional Collective agency Activist Government Shaping learning and working conditions Professional agency School Enhancing professional knowledge and professional learning Developing and enacting policy Classroom Individual agency 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 8

The cases Scotland (Educational Institute of Scotland) New Zealand (New Zealand Educational Institute and Post Primary Teachers Association) Kenya (Kenya National Union Teachers) Poland Chile USA Turkey (Egitim Sen) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 9

Scotland National collective bargaining processes Influential General Teaching Council Commitment to partnership working stable industrial relations Secure local government system providing school sector education (no pressure to change) Strong social equity agenda Policy borrowing - drive to standardised testing 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 10

New Zealand Heavily decentralised system (schools run by management boards of trustees) National collective bargaining processes Separate processes for primary and secondary Emergent privatisation agenda ( Partnership Schools aka Charter Schools) Global policy borrowing school collaboration and networks (a case study in union involvement in reform) Stable industrial relations 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 11

Kenya Highly centralised Influential body overseeing key elements of employment of teachers Teachers Service Commission (BUT does not fund teachers pay, so danger of government over-ruling TSC decisions) Poverty in the country and poverty in the education system Collective bargaining agreements are substantive, not procedural (often driven by industrial action) Antagonistic employer high levels of industrial action Privatisation growth of Bridge Academies Policy borrowing performance contracts being introduced 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 12

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Data collection Case Scotland Data 21 people involved in interviews (union officials, lay officers and activists plus employer representatives). School visit Attended Festival of Education conference where Education Minister was keynote 28 people involved in interviews (17 NZEI and 11 PPTA) plus employer representative and local edu- blogger 3 school visits Presentation and discussion 20 people involved in interviews (officials and lay activists plus senior official in KUPPET and Kenya TUC). 3 school visits and meetings with 56 teachers 2 presentations plus discussion Meeting with 12 edu-bloggers (in KNUT and outside) New Zealand Kenya 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 14

Key emerging issues lines of inquiry The centrality of collective bargaining Building at the base Organising ideas Organising without borders The new activism 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 15

The centrality of collective bargaining Two cases with robust collective bargaining procedures, and one with weak. Scotland s procedures are post-2000 (devolution) considerable conflict previously New Zealand element of centralisation in a decentralised system. Has it held the line? Kenya limited CB, high levels of conflict. CB provides a voice on key issues Legitimates the union(s) Complex relationship between higher levels of union and members. 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 16

Building at the base A shift to organising the case of NZEI The main battles that we have had since I have been here have all been about what people would call professional issues but they have all been fought industrially, in the sense of using industrial and organising and campaigning tactics. You can t separate the two. National standards, is a professional issue it is about how you assess kids, but the way we fought that campaign was out on the streets using industrial methods We didn t win it but they haven t won it either . . . NZEI senior official 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 17

Building at the base The importance of workplace organisation My experience of the union is a very personal one. To us, the EIS is as active as the school rep we have had at the time. That is our experience, having not been any further involved in the union. There is a real sense of that safety net. At the national level there are all those negotiations and pay deals you hope they will get, but very much at a personal level our rep is incredibly approachable in terms of being a safety net in the school. For me that is more important than the wider issues, anything the union does anywhere else. (EIS member) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 18

The role of the key local leader . . . Member engagement Time Fosh (1993)

Organising ideas because ideas matter . . . If the unions aren t part of the problem, who is to blame for education slipping down the international rankings? The answer is the education faculties of universities. Nick Gibb, Schools Minister, England, 2014 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 20

Organising ideas Being part of the conversation, and creating a consensus. When the government changed from Labour/Lib Dem to SNP education policy didn t change at all. It just carried on. They wanted to change some things, but after discussion, they changed their mind . (EIS senior official) We are not interested in that neoliberal thing here (GTCS official) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 21

Organising ideas The role of professional learning the case of EIS Union Learning Reps Union provided PD (on professional/industrial issues eg Professional Update) Supporting an action research conference Links to Masters programme 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 22

Organising ideas (and professional learning as organising) The role of professional learning the case of EIS Better PLD for members Union capacity building Frame professional issues 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 23

Organising ideas reframe the narrative politicising the issues (GERM agenda) connecting the professional and the industrial The members don t make that distinction they don t say the union is dealing with me professionally today . Their work is about curriculum, pay . . . why separate them? (union official) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 24

Organising without borders The power of global policy discourses, their impact on nation states and the need to influence them. Member mobilisation on international issues #tellpearson The need for international solidarity and the potential for solidarity on international issues to promote member engagement. 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 25

We need your help . . . 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 26

The new activism The shift to networks (rather than structures) There are new ad hoc groups that have come together. Formed around issues people are interested in. We had a new teachers conference and that pulled in a lot of younger teachers. Many of them had other political stuff going on. One thing they did was set up a campaigning strategy for our collective agreement round. They met every fortnight. Sometimes more. I d skype in. Those new ones were pretty high flying teachers. High performing. I imagine they re quite liked in their staffrooms they re pretty energetic. Event Name and Venue (PPTA organiser) 3/20/2025 27

The new activism The power of social media IES our members were very sceptical we did a lot of communication. We pushed out a lot of blogs and emails and tweeted a lot. (PPTA officer) The Teachers Welfare in Kenya group is a closed FB group for KNUT members with more than 32,000 members. 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 28

Connecting the issues Collective bargaining Building at the base new activism Organising without borders Organising ideas 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 29

Some issues for further exploration Organising from above (and the dangers of substitutionalism) Working in, and against . . . (and the challenges of riding two horses simultaneously) How to be against, and for . . . (and the problems of combining critique and hope) The dynamics of multi-unionism (and the difficulties of developing collaborative working) 3/20/2025 Event Name and Venue 30