The organizing model, as the term refers to trade unions (and sometimes other social-movement organizations), is a broad conception of how those organizations should recruit, operate, and advance the interests of their members, though the specific functions of the model are more detailed and are discussed at length below. It typically involves many full-time organizers, who work by building up confidence and strong networks and leaders within the workforce, and by confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. The organizing model is strongly linked to social movement unionism and community unionism. The organizing model contributes to the discussion of how trade unions can reverse the trend of declining membership, which they are experiencing in most industrial nations, and how they can recapture some of the political power, which the labor movement has lost over the past century.
The organizing model is frequently compared and contrasted with other methods of union organization, such as the servicing model. There is disagreement as to the logistics of applying the organizing model and whether it should focus on organizing existing members, recruiting new members, or both. The prominence of the model and the debate over its worth are seen primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Definition
The principal aim of the organizing model is that of giving power directly to union members. The organizing model in its ideal type has these features:
- Strong emphasis on the importance of personal contact in organizing. Union officials are, according to Heery, Simms, Simpson, Delbridge, and Salmon, "paid",
- As a component of these recruitment drives, Heery, Simms, Simpson, Delbridge, and Salmon also discuss "mapping" Heery, Simms, Simpson, Delbridge, and Salmon state that the organizing model is different from the servicing model because it focuses instead on making union members feel "empowered",
History in the United States
According to Richard W. Hurd, the history of the organizing model in the US began from the failure of a "labor law" to be passed in the 1970s. in Los Angeles. to employ the organizing model was "Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF)", in general the model has not been implemented in the UK with the same comprehensive commitment as it has been by some unions in the US. Heery, Simms, Simpson, Delbridge, and Salmon state that U.K. unions are more likely to adopt the organizing model if they are or have been affiliated with "the Academy", Heery, Simms, Simpson, Delbridge, and Salmon have isolated several aspects of the organizing model that are likely to appear in the U.K., namely "one-to-one recruitment", Fiorito lists "...less reliance on paid staff and much lower dues levels in U.K. unions..." because the organizing model requires an effective way to share information with workers quickly and efficiently. In the organizing model, the workers are not as active as they could be, and staff are still responsible for many aspects of union organizing.