community living ontario 57th annual conference community living: a social movement? robert hickey...

Community Living Ontario57th Annual Conference

Community Living: A Social Movement?

Robert HickeyQueen’s University

School of Policy Studies


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Conditions for renewal

• Crisis– Organizational insolvency– Density decline

• Change in leadership– Influx of community organizers

• National union support and direction– Incentives– Expertise


A sense of crisis (US labour movement)


Canada in comparison

Union Density: US & Canada

0

10

20

30

40

50

1901

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

1999

2002

Canada US


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.


Renewal strategies

• Mergers• Organizing orientation• Coalition formation with other organizations• Innovative collective action• Comprehensive campaign strategies• New forms of political action• Employer partnerships


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


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

community living ontario 57th annual conference community living: a social movement? robert hickey...

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