Revitalising young workers' union participation: a comparative analysis of two organisations in Quebec (Canada)

• Author: Mélanie Laroche,Mélanie Dufour‐Poirier
• Date: 01 November 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12118
• Published date: 01 November 2015

Revitalising young workers’union

participation: a comparative analysis of two

organisations in Quebec (Canada)

Mélanie Dufour-Poirier and Mélanie Laroche

ABSTRACT

This paper examineshow two trade union organisationsin Quebec (Canada) manage to

integrate issuesof concern to young members (30years old and under) and spur changes

in their agenda, structures and practices. Between 2009 and 2014, 25 interviews were

conducted in these two organisations, while 41 focus group discussions were held with

more than 430 members.We contend that improving young members’feelingof belong-

ing to the union, enhancing internal networkdensity and implementing more participa-

tory forms of democracy are key elements when it comes to increasing their

participation. Our findings reveal that unions must dare to integrate young members,

without seeking to mould them to fit with the values and practices they deem to be out-

dated. It means notonly training young members to carry the necessarymessage to their

peers but also allowingthem to challenge the strategic orientations suggested therein.

1 INTRODUCTION

This paper analyses the revitalisation of union representation among young members

in two trade union organisations in Quebec. More specifically, it examines how trade

unions manage to integrate issues of concern to young members (30 years old and

under) and spur changes in their agenda, structures and practices. Between 2009 and

2014, 25 interviews were conducted in two trade union organisations operating in

the public and private sectors in Quebec, while 41 focus group discussions were held

with more than 430 members of these unions. On an empirical level, this reflection

helps document the strategies implemented by trade unions to countervail problems

related to the increasing difficulty of integrating the diverging interests of the labour

force (Dufour and Hege, 2013), engaging with young people and even developing ac-

tivism among them (Vandaele, 2012). It also questions the relevance of limiting their

representation to separate channels and structures, such as youth committees (Hodder,

2014; Vandaele, 2013). By extension, we evaluate whether the latter are influential,

cohesion and socialisation-generating structures that contribute to real union renewal.

On a theoreticallevel, previous studies have mainlyfocused on the bleak prospects re-

garding the unionisation of young workers (Haynes et al., 2005). Very few studies have

explored young workers’involvement in trade unions once they have been unionised

(Waddingtonand Kerr, 2000). Yet, much of the existingresearch discusses therelevance

❒Mélanie Dufour-Poirier, Assistant Professor, School of Industrial Relations, Université de Montreal;

email: Melanie.dufour-poirier@umontreal.ca

Industrial Relations Journal 46:5–6, 418–433

ISSN 0019-8692

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

of creating separate structures dedicated to solely representing marginalised groups

(e.g. women and immigrants) (Colgan and Ledwith, 2002; Tailby and Pollert, 2011).

Two explanations have been put forward regarding the low involvement of young

workers in union life and structures in general. The first refers to structural factors.

The position of young workers in the labour market explains the low density of union

representation among them. Young workers often find themselves in industry sectors

where it is particularly difficult to unionise workers and in which working conditions

tend to be quite poor (e.g. service industries). Moreover, the low rate of unionisation

stems from a higher turnover rate among these workers, who are often still students

(Usalcas and Bowlby, 2011). Once unionised, because of their instability, it is easier

for these workers to resort to the ‘exit’strategy than to attempt to resolve problems

at work through collective means. This low exposure to union membership and to

union members in their personal lives (Bielksi Boris et al., 2013) is related to a frus-

trated demand for union representation.

The second explanation refers to so-called systematic obstacles (Vandaele, 2013).

It is suggested that the low propensity of young workers to become unionised or

participate in union life is due to their inherent characteristics, which involve a

political ideology that conveys a rather negative opinion of unions, a multiplicity

of senses of belonging, new social causes that are not necessarily connected to the

workplace and general disengagement from any form of political participation

(Inglehart, 1997). According to Paquet (2005), young workers are more inclined

to seek immediate results than to endorse social and/or societal demands, a result

that was contradicted by Freeman, Boxall and Haynes (2007). Last, the union of-

ficers in charge of delivering messages often belong to older generations and give

low priority to the needs of young workers. These pressures are prompting unions

to diversify their practices, notably through youth committees. The success of

these committees is contingent on whether or not they allow young workers to de-

velop a sense of belonging to the union structures concerned, express their views

and socialise, which will then enable them to play an influential role internally,

accessing the strategic resources so as to be heard by valid representatives and

have their ideas considered and taken up in the policies and ‘services’put in place

(Roholt et al., 2013).

However, there is little research available relating specifically to young workers,

especially in unionised sectors (Hodder, 2014). Seldom does it document the willing-

ness of trade unions to give these members the space to cultivate new ideas and learn

from their own mistakes in order to become dynamic leaders and/or agents of

change (Bielski Boris et al., 2013). This is the aim of this paper, which is divided into

five sections. The next section presents the theoretical background to our reflections.

The third section explores the context of the research, the data and the methods used

in our analyses. The fourth section presents our findings using an intra-case scheme

of analysis. Then, the fifth and last section presents an inter-case analysis and con-

cludes with further reflections regarding the actual capacity of trade unions to im-

prove the representation of young workers.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The union renewal literature discusses the problems concerning how the integration

of diversity can strengthen unions in the future (Lotte Hansen, 2004). The idea is

not to dissolve diversity into homogeneity but rather to use diversity as a strategy

419Revitalising young workers’union participation

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd