Making Mediation Work for You: A Practical Handbook by Kate Aubrey‐Johnson with Helen Curtis LAG Education and Service Trust Ltd, 2012 (1st edn), xxvii+ 487pp., £40.

• Published date: 01 November 2013
• Date: 01 November 2013
• Author: Emma McAndry
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12032

This is an interesting claim and one that further research might well pursue.

Leaving aside the ambiguities surrounding the concept of social movement unionism,

it would be useful to know how far the argument is a universal proposition or is

context specific. For example, does the applicability and likely impact of SMU depend

on the attitudes of the employer and workers towards trade unionism? Is it more

relevant in the rich civil society of the United States where coalition building is more

readily available as part of the unions’ strategic repertoire?

In addition to the major theme of the politics of organizing, Union Voices also

throws light on many other important aspects of organizing practice in the UK.

Campaigns have almost invariably been focused around individual workplaces, in

part because of the constraints of the union recognition provisions of the Employ-

ment Relations Act (1999). Yet this approach typically yields relatively small gains

in membership for substantial investments of organizing resources. Moreover, in

greenfield sites, the single employer who agrees to union recognition and improve-

ments in terms and conditions may then find he/she is at a competitive disadvantage

in relation to non-union competitors. This is why UNITE has shifted the focus of

its organizing to groups of firms within a sector. British unions have also been

rather conservative in their choice of targets, with a strong emphasis either on infill

recruitment where they already have recognition or on greenfield sites in parts of

manufacturing where there is some union presence. One can see the logic of starting

with easy targets—‘low hanging fruit’ in common parlance—but the downside is

that the vast and growing number of non-union firms in the private services sector

is left almost untouched.

The book also touches on the issue of how far the organizing agenda has pen-

etrated and transformed the organizational culture of trade unions. In many unions

organizers remain somewhat isolated from the core activities of bargaining and

representation, and they are often employed on entry grade contracts whose status

is not quite on a par with that of their officer colleagues. Other unions, such as

GMB, have tried to ‘mainstream’ union organizing activity and ensure that all of its

officers engage in some organizing. Yet this approach also has its problems, as the

demands on officers from existing members often squeeze out the time available for

organizing non-members.

Overall, Union Voices is a clear, succinct and candid appraisal of more than a

decade of union organizing in the UK. It is extremely valuable, both as a summary of

a large body of excellent research and as a pointer to the research agendas for the

future.

John Kelly

Birkbeck, University of London, UK

Making Mediation Work for You: A Practical Handbook

Kate Aubrey-Johnson with Helen Curtis

LAG Education and Service Trust Ltd, 2012 (1st edn), xxvii+ 487pp., £40.

This is a welcome addition to the increasing number of books on mediation, which

reflects the slow but definite inclination towards mediation as a preferred method of

dispute resolution over litigation. Having been in practice as a solicitor and now a legal

587Book reviews

© 2013 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd