Trade unions as environmental actors: the UK Transport and General Workers' Union

Capitalism, Nature, Socialism

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 3-34

  Mason, Michael ^a   Morter, Nigel ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS; POLITICAL PARTICIPATION; TRADE UNION; UNION ROLE;

UK;

EID: 0031672080     PISSN: 10455752     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10455759809358791     Document Type: Article

References (116)

1. J. Porritt and D. Winner, The Coming of the Greens (London: Fontana, 1988), p. 171.
2. G. Dauncey, After the Crash: The Emergence of the Rainbow Economy (London: Green Print, 1988), pp. 156-57.
3. D. Gee, "Making Pollution Pay," New Statesman and Society, 14, April, 1995, p. 31.
4. Red Green Study Group, What on Earth is to be Done? (Red Green Study Group: Manchester, 1995), p. 15. On the conservative strand in British ecologism, see D. Pepper, "Political Philosophy and Environmentalism in Britain," CNS 4, 3, September, 1993.
5. Red Green Study Group, What on Earth is to be Done? (Red Green Study Group: Manchester, 1995), p. 15. On the conservative strand in British ecologism, see D. Pepper, "Political Philosophy and Environmentalism in Britain," CNS 4, 3, September, 1993.
6. D. Pepper, Eco-Socialism (London: Routledge, 1995), p. 63. One of many examples that could be cited here is the London matchgirls' strike in 1888 (B. Webb and S. Webb, The History of Trade Unionism, 2nd ed, [London: Longmans Green and Co., 1920], pp. 402-04).
7. D. Pepper, Eco-Socialism (London: Routledge, 1995), p. 63. One of many examples that could be cited here is the London matchgirls' strike in 1888 (B. Webb and S. Webb, The History of Trade Unionism, 2nd ed, [London: Longmans Green and Co., 1920], pp. 402-04).
8. N. Millward, The New Industrial Relations? (London: Policy Studies Institute, 1994), pp. 119-21; M. Cully and S. Woodhead, "Trade Union Membership and Recognition," Labour Market Trends, 105, 1997.
9. N. Millward, The New Industrial Relations? (London: Policy Studies Institute, 1994), pp. 119-21; M. Cully and S. Woodhead, "Trade Union Membership and Recognition," Labour Market Trends, 105, 1997.
10. The term comes from Spiros Simitis; see his "Juridification of Labor Relations," in G. Teubner, ed., Juridification of Social Spheres (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1987), p. 127.
11. On the influence of supply-side economics in this area, see S. Deakin, "Labour Law and Industrial Relations," in J. Michie, ed., The Economic Legacy 1979-1992 (London: Academic Press, 1992).
12. For example, J. Purcell, "The End of Institutional Industrial Relations," Political Quarterly, 64, 1993.
13. J. Fulcher, Labour Movements, Employers, and the State: Conflict and Co-operation in Britain and Sweden (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), pp. 312-27. The overt class bias of state action has ranged from straightforward coercion (1926 general strike) to the statutory wage controls and union regulation put in place by the 1970-74 Conservative government. That employers can draw political strength from the weakness of their interest organizations, on account of their market power, is indicated more widely by Streeck: See W. Streeck, Social Institutions and Economic Performance: Studies of Industrial Relations in Advanced Capitalist Economies (London: Sage, 1992).
14. J. Fulcher, Labour Movements, Employers, and the State: Conflict and Co-operation in Britain and Sweden (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), pp. 312-27. The overt class bias of state action has ranged from straightforward coercion (1926 general strike) to the statutory wage controls and union regulation put in place by the 1970-74 Conservative government. That employers can draw political strength from the weakness of their interest organizations, on account of their market power, is indicated more widely by Streeck: See W. Streeck, Social Institutions and Economic Performance: Studies of Industrial Relations in Advanced Capitalist Economies (London: Sage, 1992).
15. D. Marsh, The New Politics of British Trade Unionism: Union Power and the Thatcher Legacy (London: Macmillan, 1992), pp. 245-49; R. Martin, Bargaining Power (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 173-78.
16. D. Marsh, The New Politics of British Trade Unionism: Union Power and the Thatcher Legacy (London: Macmillan, 1992), pp. 245-49; R. Martin, Bargaining Power (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 173-78.
17. D. Massey and J. Painter, "The Changing Geography of Trade Unions," in J. Mohan, ed., The Political Geography of Contemporary Britain (London: Macmillan, 1989); R. Martin, P. Sunley and J. Wills, Union Retreat and the Regions: The Shrinking Landscape of Organized Labour (London: Jessica Kingsley, 1996).
18. D. Massey and J. Painter, "The Changing Geography of Trade Unions," in J. Mohan, ed., The Political Geography of Contemporary Britain (London: Macmillan, 1989); R. Martin, P. Sunley and J. Wills, Union Retreat and the Regions: The Shrinking Landscape of Organized Labour (London: Jessica Kingsley, 1996).
19. R. Undy, P. Fosh, H. Morris, P. Smith and R. Martin, Managing the Unions: The Impact of Legislation on Trade Union Behaviour (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), p. 54.
20. Ibid., pp. 260-62.
21. Martin, op. cit., p. 174; W. Hutton, The State We're In (London: Jonathan Cape, 1995), pp. 95-105.
22. Martin, op. cit., p. 174; W. Hutton, The State We're In (London: Jonathan Cape, 1995), pp. 95-105.
23. S. Dunne and M. Wright, "Maintaining the 'Status Quo'? An Analysis of the Contents of British Collective Agreements, 1979-1990," British Journal of Industrial Relations, 23, 1994.
24. J. O'Connor, "Capitalism, Nature, Socialism: A Theoretical Introduction," CNS Issue 1, 1988, and "The Second Contradiction of Capitalism: Causes and Consequences," in Conference Papers, CES/CNS Pamphlet 1, Santa Cruz, CA, 1991. See also T. Benton, "Marxism and Natural Limits: An Ecological Critique and Reconstruction," New Left Review, No. 178, 1989.
25. J. O'Connor, "Capitalism, Nature, Socialism: A Theoretical Introduction," CNS Issue 1, 1988, and "The Second Contradiction of Capitalism: Causes and Consequences," in Conference Papers, CES/CNS Pamphlet 1, Santa Cruz, CA, 1991. See also T. Benton, "Marxism and Natural Limits: An Ecological Critique and Reconstruction," New Left Review, No. 178, 1989.
26. J. O'Connor, "Capitalism, Nature, Socialism: A Theoretical Introduction," CNS Issue 1, 1988, and "The Second Contradiction of Capitalism: Causes and Consequences," in Conference Papers, CES/CNS Pamphlet 1, Santa Cruz, CA, 1991. See also T. Benton, "Marxism and Natural Limits: An Ecological Critique and Reconstruction," New Left Review, No. 178, 1989.
27. O'Connor, 1991, Ibid., p. 9.
28. U. Beck, Ecological Politics in an Age of Risk (Cambridge: Polity, 1995), pp. 146-47.
29. D. Pepper, "Radical Environmentalism and the Labour Movement," in J. Weston, ed., Red and Green: The New Politics of the Environment (London: Pluto Press, 1986), p. 129.
30. This march was called for by 329 T&G members from the Liverpool docks, who had been sacked in September, 1995 for refusing to cross a picket line. The ensuing tensions between the dockers and the T&G leadership were symptomatic of the dilemmas for organized labor in a union-hostile environment. Fearing potential sequestration of union funds, the leadership failed to offer its official support for an "illegal" dispute (although the union donated £700,000 to the dockers' hardship fund), attracting condemnation from parts of the British labor movement. In January, 1998 the dockers eventually voted to accept a pay-off from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company to end the dispute.
31. This method of representation was devised in 1922 by Ernest Bevin, the first General Secretary of the TGWU, as part of the union's founding rule book; see M. Stephens, Ernest Bevin, Unskilled Labourer and World Statesman 1881-1951 (London: T&G, 1981), pp. 48-56. The 14 Trade Groups are as follows: Administrative, Clerical, Technical & Supervisory; Building, Construction and Civil Engineering; Civil Air Transport; Chemical, Rubber, Manufacturing and Oil Refining; Docks and Waterways; Food, Drink & Tobacco; General Workers; Passenger Services; Power & Engineering; Public Services; Road Transport Commercial; Rural, Agriculture and Allied Workers; Textiles; and Vehicle, Building & Automotive.
32. TGWU, Biennial Delegate Conference Minutes, 1975, p. 20.
33. TGWU, Biennial Delegate Conference Minutes, 1991, p. 30.
34. This is not to deny the existence of conflicting interests within the T&G on transport issues; for example, the contentious road-building program of the former Conservative government involved one project - the Newbury bypass - where the Rural, Agriculture and Allied Workers Trade Group, opposing the scheme, clashed openly with the Road Transport Commercial workers. The national leadership weighed in behind the latter trade group in supporting the project on obvious sectional grounds, thereby antagonizing environmentalists and anti-roads activists.
35. TGWU, Biennial Delegate Conference Minutes, 1981, p. 27.
36. TGWU, Biennial Delegate Conference Minutes, 1985, p. 15.
37. TGWU, Biennial Delegate Conference Minutes, 1973, p. 35.
38. TGWU, ENACT: Environmental Charter for the TGWU (London: TGWU, 1991).
39. Ibid., pp. 2, 16-18.
40. The survey was undertaken by the T&G National Health and Safety Coordinator; T&G, Health and Safety Record, No. 3, 1997, p. 13.
41. K. Williams, "Deregulating Occupational Health and Safety," Industrial Law Journal, 24, 1995; and on the contrast with the U.S., "Making Rules for Occupational Health in Britain, the USA and the EC," Anglo-Americal Law Review, 26, 1997.
42. K. Williams, "Deregulating Occupational Health and Safety," Industrial Law Journal, 24, 1995; and on the contrast with the U.S., "Making Rules for Occupational Health in Britain, the USA and the EC," Anglo-Americal Law Review, 26, 1997.
43. Interview: John Fisher, T&G Director of Education, London, June 1995.
44. Trades Union Congress, Greening the Workplace (London: TUC, 1991).
45. A. Dalton, Handbook on Safety, Health and Environmental Issues (London: T&G, 1998).
46. T&G, The Safety, Health and Environmental Implications of Burning Alternative Fuels in Cement Kilns: A Report of a T&G Organised Conference Attended by the AEEU and GMB (London: T&G, 1996).
47. For example, T. Hellberg, "Incineration by the Backdoor," The Ecologist, 25, 1995.
48. On local compromises between capital and labor see D. Harvey, "The Geopolitics of Capitalism," in D. Gregory and J. Urry, eds., Social Relations and Spatial Structures (London: Macmillan, 1985).
49. Environment Committee, The Environmental Impact of Cement Manufacture, Third Report (London: The Stationery Office, 1997).
50. T&G "Major Seminar on Cement Industry and Environment," News Release, London, July 12, 1996.
51. T&G, "Come Clean on Pollution!", T&G Health and Safety Record, No. 1, Winter, 1996. The chair of the cement industry working group was the chairman of Ready Mixed Concrete, one of the largest cement firms in Britain. He has since been appointed to the board of the Environment Agency.
52. Environment Committee, op cit., p. xlviii. In its response, the new Labour government promised to promote more openness and public involvement in SLF authorization procedures, but shied away from any regulatory reform of industrial pollution control processes: UK Government, Government Response to the Third Report of the House of Commons Environment Select Committee Session 1996-97, Cm 3692 (London: The Stationery Office, June 1997).
53. Environment Committee, op cit., p. xlviii. In its response, the new Labour government promised to promote more openness and public involvement in SLF authorization procedures, but shied away from any regulatory reform of industrial pollution control processes: UK Government, Government Response to the Third Report of the House of Commons Environment Select Committee Session 1996-97, Cm 3692 (London: The Stationery Office, June 1997).
54. L. Vickers, Protecting Whistleblowers at Work (London: Institute of Employment Rights, 1995), p. 23.
55. However, there are key industrial sectors where, for "national security" concerns, these legal rights have historically been abrogated, notably the nuclear sector; R. Lewis, "Nuclear Power and Employment Rights," Industrial Law Journal, 7, 1978.
56. N. Millward, M. Stevens, D. Smart and W. R. Hawes, Workplace Industrial Relations in Transition: The ED/ESRC/PSI/ACAS Surveys (Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing, 1992), p. 162.
57. Beck, op. cit., pp. 173-80.
58. For example, at the chemical firm Rhone Poulence, the T&G has managed to negotiate that health and safety representatives be allowed the same rights on environmental issues as their legal entitlements over health and safety; T&G, Trade Unionists and Eco-auditing (London: T&G, 1996), pp. 4-5.
59. By the end of 1996 the UK had only 20 of 400 registered EMAS sites across the EU; See P. Strachen, M. Haque, A. McCulloch and J. Moxen, "The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: Recent Experiences of UK Participating Organizations," European Environment, 7, 1997.
60. A T&G survey of the CBI Green Company listing in 1996 discovered that only one of 25 UK companies producing annual enviromental reports had active union involvement in compiling the report. Personal Communication, Alan Dalton, T&G National Health and Safety Coordinator, November 1996.
61. W. Gereluk and L. Royer, "Trade Union Action: A Paradigm for Sustainable Development," in F. Dodds, ed., The Way Forward: Beyond Agenda 21 (London: Earthscan, 1997), p. 138. See also R. Krut and H. Gleckman, ISO 14001: The Missed Opportunities (London: Earthscan, 1997).
62. W. Gereluk and L. Royer, "Trade Union Action: A Paradigm for Sustainable Development," in F. Dodds, ed., The Way Forward: Beyond Agenda 21 (London: Earthscan, 1997), p. 138. See also R. Krut and H. Gleckman, ISO 14001: The Missed Opportunities (London: Earthscan, 1997).
63. Directive 93/104/EC, Official Journal, 1993, L 307-18.
64. B. Fitzpatrick, "Straining the Definition of Health and Safety." Industrial Law Journal, 26, 1997.
65. Ibid., p. 131; K. Ewing, ed., Working Life: A New Perspective on Labour Law (London: Institute of Employment Rights, 1996), pp. 241-42, 324.
66. Ibid., p. 131; K. Ewing, ed., Working Life: A New Perspective on Labour Law (London: Institute of Employment Rights, 1996), pp. 241-42, 324.
67. P. James and D. Walters, "Non-union Rights of Involvement: The Case of Health and Safety at Work," Industrial Law Journal, 26, 1997. The T&G has successfully experimented with roving safety representatives within the Rural Agriculture & Allied Workers Trade Sector.
68. On the argument for involving lay publics in the identification and examination of environmental risks, see B. Wynne, "May the Sheep Safely Graze? A Reflexive View of the Expert-Lay Knowledge Divide," in S. Lash, B. Szerszynski and B. Wynne, eds., Risk, Environment & Modernity: Towards a New Ecology (London: Sage, 1996).
69. E. Hildebrandt, "Environmental Achievements in Enterprises - With Special Reference to Industrial Relations," in M. Janicke and H. Weidner, eds., Successful Environmental Policy: A Critical Evaluation of 24 Cases (Berlin: Edition Sigma, 1995). A more skeptical perspective, based on a study of Ford (Germany) by a T&G researcher, demonstrates that the technical-regulatory approach to health and safety in Germany can detach key issues from worker influence; S. Turner, How do Worker Represent atives Influence the Management of Health and Safety within Ford of Europe? MA Dissertation, University of Keele, 1995.
70. E. Hildebrandt, "Environmental Achievements in Enterprises - With Special Reference to Industrial Relations," in M. Janicke and H. Weidner, eds., Successful Environmental Policy: A Critical Evaluation of 24 Cases (Berlin: Edition Sigma, 1995). A more skeptical perspective, based on a study of Ford (Germany) by a T&G researcher, demonstrates that the technical-regulatory approach to health and safety in Germany can detach key issues from worker influence; S. Turner, How do Worker Represent atives Influence the Management of Health and Safety within Ford of Europe? MA Dissertation, University of Keele, 1995.
71. Barrows, op. cit., pp. 129-40.
72. B. Pimlott, "Trade Unions and the Second Coming of CND," in B. Pimlott and C. Cook, eds., Trade Unions in British Politics (London: Longman, 1982).
73. J. Cook and C. Kaufman, Portrait of a Poison: The 2,4,5-T Story (London: Pluto Press, 1982); J. Slater, "Dumping Nuclear Waste at Sea," in E. Goldsmith and N. Hildyard, eds., Green Britain or Industrial Wasteland? (Cambridge: Polity, 1986).
74. J. Cook and C. Kaufman, Portrait of a Poison: The 2,4,5-T Story (London: Pluto Press, 1982); J. Slater, "Dumping Nuclear Waste at Sea," in E. Goldsmith and N. Hildyard, eds., Green Britain or Industrial Wasteland? (Cambridge: Polity, 1986).
75. B. Camfield, "Boycott Shell" (T&G inter-Branch memo), 2 November, 1995; B. Morris, Script for Ogoni People Solidarity Meeting, St. John's College, Oxford, 1 May, 1995.
76. B. Camfield, "Boycott Shell" (T&G inter-Branch memo), 2 November, 1995; B. Morris, Script for Ogoni People Solidarity Meeting, St. John's College, Oxford, 1 May, 1995.
77. Interview with Angela Mawle, Director, Women's Environmental Network, London, May, 1995.
78. Interview with Bill Morris, General Secretary of the T&G, London, November, 1995.
79. Porritt and Winner, op. cit., p. 41.
80. United Nations, Agenda 21: The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio (New York: United Nations, 1993), p. 235.
81. Gereluk and Royer, op. cit., pp. 134-36.
82. UK Government, Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy, Cm 2426 (London: HMSO, 1994). Subsequent official statements continued to ignore the CSD request for countries to include information on worker participation in their sustainable development reports.
83. United Nations Association-UK Sustainable Development Unit/Community Development Foundation, Towards Local Sustainability: A Review of Current Activity on Local Agenda 21 in the UK (London: UNA-UK/Community Development Foundation, 1995), p. 5.
84. N. Morter, Local Agenda 21: A Guide for Active T&G Members (London: T&G, 1995).
85. J. Kelly, Trade Unions and Socialist Politics (London: Verso, 1988), pp. 303-4.
86. M. Dowie, Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth Century (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995), pp. 157-60; F. Gardner and S. Greer, "Crossing the River: How Local Struggles Build a Broader Movement," Antipode, 28, 1996.
87. M. Dowie, Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth Century (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995), pp. 157-60; F. Gardner and S. Greer, "Crossing the River: How Local Struggles Build a Broader Movement," Antipode, 28, 1996.
88. R. C. Field, "Risk and Justice: Capitalist Production and the Environment," CNS, 8, 2, 1997; R. W. Lake, "Volunteers, NIMBYs, and Environmental Justice: Dilemmas of Democratic Practice," Antipode, 28, 1996.
89. R. C. Field, "Risk and Justice: Capitalist Production and the Environment," CNS, 8, 2, 1997; R. W. Lake, "Volunteers, NIMBYs, and Environmental Justice: Dilemmas of Democratic Practice," Antipode, 28, 1996.
90. M. Jacobs (for the Real World Coalition), The Politics of the Real World (London: Earthscan, 1996).
91. M. Jacobs, "Real World," Environmental Politics, 5, 1996.
92. Cited in A. Boyle, "The Role of International Human Rights Law in the Protection of the Environment," in A. E. Boyle and M. R. Anderson, eds., Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), p. 66.
93. R. Desgagne, "Integrating Environmental Values into the European Convention on Human Rights," American Journal of International Law, 89, 1995; S. Douglas-Scott, "Environmental Rights in the European Union - Participatory Democracy or Democratic Deficit?" in Boyle and Anderson, ibid.
94. R. Desgagne, "Integrating Environmental Values into the European Convention on Human Rights," American Journal of International Law, 89, 1995; S. Douglas-Scott, "Environmental Rights in the European Union - Participatory Democracy or Democratic Deficit?" in Boyle and Anderson, ibid.
95. J. Dunkley, "Unconventional Rights," New Ground, No. 51, 1997, pp. 16-17.
96. R. W. Lake, op. cit., p. 171.
97. ICFTU, The Global Market - Trade Unionism's Greatest Challenge (Brussels: ICFTU, 1996).
98. T&G, Safety, Health and Environmental Issues and European Works Councils (London: T&G, 1997).
99. B. Bercusson, European Works Councils - Extending the Trade Union Role (London: Institute of Employment Rights, 1997), p. 43.
100. Lord Wedderburn, "Consultation and Collective Bargaining in Europe: Success or Ideology?" Industial Law Journal, 26, 1997.
101. K. A. Gould, A. Schnaiberg, A. S. Weinberg, Local Environmental Struggles: Citizen Activism in the Treadmill of Production (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 181-86, 196-203.
102. K. Moody, "Towards an International Social-Movement Unionism," New Left Review, No. 225, 1997; J. Cavanagh, "Strategies to Advance Labor and Environmental Standards: A North-South Dialogue," CNS, 4, 3, 1993.
103. K. Moody, "Towards an International Social-Movement Unionism," New Left Review, No. 225, 1997; J. Cavanagh, "Strategies to Advance Labor and Environmental Standards: A North-South Dialogue," CNS, 4, 3, 1993.
104. G. Standing,"Globalization, Labour Flexibility and Insecurity: The Era of Market Regulation," European Journal of Industrial Relations, 3, 1997, p. 31.
105. Ibid.
106. R. Doothwaite, Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economies for Security in an Unstable World (Totnes: Green Books, 1996).
107. While the then TGWU endorsed the report, it was vehemently opposed by the General and Municipal Workers' Union (GMWU) and the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union (EETPU); see Kelly, op. cit., pp. 209-10; TGWU, Industrial Democracy (London: TGWU, 1978).
108. While the then TGWU endorsed the report, it was vehemently opposed by the General and Municipal Workers' Union (GMWU) and the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union (EETPU); see Kelly, op. cit., pp. 209-10; TGWU, Industrial Democracy (London: TGWU, 1978).
109. H. Wainwright and D. Elliot, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making? (London: Allison & Busby, 1982); TGWU, Arms Jobs Conversion (London: TGWU, 1987). On the examples, Pepper, 1986, op. cit., p. 135; and R. Keil, "The Green Work Alliance," CNS, 6, 3, 1995.
110. H. Wainwright and D. Elliot, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making? (London: Allison & Busby, 1982); TGWU, Arms Jobs Conversion (London: TGWU, 1987). On the examples, Pepper, 1986, op. cit., p. 135; and R. Keil, "The Green Work Alliance," CNS, 6, 3, 1995.
111. H. Wainwright and D. Elliot, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making? (London: Allison & Busby, 1982); TGWU, Arms Jobs Conversion (London: TGWU, 1987). On the examples, Pepper, 1986, op. cit., p. 135; and R. Keil, "The Green Work Alliance," CNS, 6, 3, 1995.
112. H. Wainwright and D. Elliot, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making? (London: Allison & Busby, 1982); TGWU, Arms Jobs Conversion (London: TGWU, 1987). On the examples, Pepper, 1986, op. cit., p. 135; and R. Keil, "The Green Work Alliance," CNS, 6, 3, 1995.
113. T&G, "T&G - UK's Greenest Union," T&G Health and Safety Record, No. 3, 1997, p. 5.
114. P. Christoff, "Ecological Modernisation, Ecological Modernities," Environmental Politics, 5, 1996, p. 485.
115. D. Harvey, Justice, Nature & the Geography of Difference (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1996), p. 401.
116. S. Webb and B. Webb, Industrial Democracy [1897] (New York: A. M. Kelley, 1965), p. 847.