Organising model

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.

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:

The development of the organizing model is as opposed to the servicing model, and there are various differences between the two models for union structure. Edmund Heery, Melanie Simms, Dave Simpson, Rick Delbridge, and John Salmon talk about how in the servicing model, "...the function of the union is to deliver collective and individual services to members who are dependent on the formal organization and its hierarchy of officers to provide what they require." 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," rather than alienated from the whole union process and environment.

Jack Fiorito states that the organizing model and the servicing model cannot be considered separate and there needs to be provision for using both models at the same time; Fiorito's research about British union members showed that "...a large number of responses express reservations about the OM or at least the organizing vs. servicing dichotomy suggested. Many of these responses emphasize the importance of service as an aid to organizing (18%) or something that is expected by the members (23%)." Fiorito believes that the organizing model and the servicing model are not mutually exclusive in some cases; there are some instances when the two models could be complementary. The debate over the organizing model versus the servicing model is widespread and multifaceted. Even the goals of the organizing model are debated and disagreed upon.

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