Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Community Living: A Social Movement? Robert Hickey Queen’s University School of Policy Studies

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Social Movements Builds on session from 2009 CLO Conference What makes a social movement? Characteristics of social movement organizations Lessons from other social movements – the labour movement Possible applications for the Community Living Movement

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Characteristics of a social movement? What makes a social movement? – How would you describe the characteristics of a social movement? Historical social movements? – What was the first mass social movement? Contemporary social movements? – Flash mobs versus social movements

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Social movements Collective identities – Cohesion and coordination of interests Communication networks – Implications of new ICT? Political opportunity structures (threats) – Discontent not sufficient Contentious politics (system change) – Challenges of success

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Unions – “old” social movement Rise – Decline – Renewal (?) Diverse organizations – Craft vs industrial, discriminatory vs inclusive Unions reflect most ‘voluntary organizations’ – Small activist core with many free-riders Advances in institutional stability often comes with a decline in social movement orientation

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Causes of union movement decline Economic restructuring – Decline in manufacturing shift to services Political shifts (Thatcher & Reagan) – Anti-union government policy Employer resistance – Wal Marts of the world unite Unions themselves

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Dynamics of union decline Iron Law of Oligarchy – Michels (1911) observed that organizations develop divergent interests between leaders and rank and file members “Business unionism” as key problem – Union functions like an insurance agency focused on services for members, not a democratic organization pressing for universal improvements – Job control focus, exclusionary practices

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Dynamics of decline (cont’) Lack of organizing strategy and capacity Reactive orientation – Easy to say no, ignore change pressures – Difficult to build a strategic agenda to shape change Collective action problems – Competition versus coordination

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Conditions for renewal Crisis – Organizational insolvency – Density decline Change in leadership – Influx of community organizers National union support and direction – Incentives – Expertise

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference A sense of crisis (US labour movement)

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Canada in comparison

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Efforts at union renewal Union renewal as a process – Member participation and activism – Leader – member relations – ‘social movement unionism’ Union renewal as an outcome – Union density – Bargaining power, political influence etc.

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Renewal strategies Mergers Organizing orientation Coalition formation with other organizations Innovative collective action Comprehensive campaign strategies New forms of political action Employer partnerships

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Lessons and possible applications Very mixed record of success Renewal most successful among organizations pursuing comprehensive strategies – Combination of tactics – Bottom up mobilization and top down strategies Balance mandate to support current members with imperative to organize non-members – Create community organizing capacity and expertise

Community Living Ontario 57th Annual Conference Lessons and possible applications Cultivate collective identities, common frames and pro-active, strategic agendas Networked resources (internal & external) Role of research – Political opportunity structures – Institutional entrepreneurship Intra-movement political rivalry can have a debilitating effect on organizations