‘Regrettably Up-to-Date’, 1975–81

This chapter investigates Gillian Skirrow’s assertion that the Patterns report remained ‘regrettably up-to-date’ by 1981, six years after its publication (1981: 94). It argues that the relationship between women and the ACTT was characterised by inertia between 1975 and 1981. This chapter identifies the reasons for slow progress around the implementation of the recommendations of the Patterns report and considers its impact on women’s activity. Firstly, it argues that the ACTT’s gendered union structure operated to inhibit the implementation of the report’s recommendations, demonstrated by limited engagement with the report among rank-and-file members and the reluctance of male union officials to negotiate around its recommendations. Secondly, this chapter argues that the Committee on Equality was detached from the formal union structure, limiting its power to influence policy and restricting women’s activity. This chapter then traces women’s growing frustration with the ACTT’s inactivity from 1980 onwards, culminating in the demand for a women’s conference. In doing so, it illustrates the influence of external feminist campaigns in the late 1970s. Finally, this chapter outlines the demands of the ACTT’s first Women’s Conference in 1981, which called for the formalisation of women’s representation within the union structure.

Women and the ACT, 1933–59

This chapter examines the relationship between women and the Association of Cine-Technicians (ACT) in the first three decades of the union’s history, between 1933 and 1959, to argue that a profoundly gendered union structure was institutionalised during the ACT’s establishment and formative years. Firstly, this chapter examines the process of unionisation within the British film industry to demonstrate that men’s interests were prioritised and women’s interests were excluded by this process. Secondly, this chapter reflects upon the consolidation of the ACT’s power in the film industry and its gendered union structure during the Second World War. It argues that the ACT introduced agreements and adopted organisational practices which safeguarded men’s jobs in response to the influx of women workers into the film industry during the war. Thirdly, it examines debates around which technicians should be represented among ACT’s membership in the post-war period, including the union’s response to the growth of the commercial television industry in the 1950s. This chapter also surveys women’s activity in the ACT between 1933 and 1959 to consider the evidence for a feminist consciousness among women activists in the decades between Britain’s first and second-wave feminist movements.

Catalysts for Change, 1960–75

This chapter analyses the relationship between women and the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) between 1960 and 1975 to identify the catalysts for the establishment of the Committee on Equality (COE) in 1973 and the demand for an investigation into gender discrimination in the film and television industries, which culminated in the publication of the Patterns of Discrimination Against Women in the Film and Television Industries report in 1975. Firstly, this chapter considers whether the ‘roots’ of women’s militancy evident in the labour movement during the 1960s (Boston, 2015) can be identified within the ACTT between 1960 and 1968. Secondly, this chapter argues that the emergence of the New Left and women’s liberation movement and industrial militancy in Britain between 1968 and 1973 encouraged women to challenge the gendered union structure of the ACTT. This section particularly highlights the significance of the London Women’s Film Group to women’s activity within the ACTT. Finally, this chapter investigates the activity of the COE between 1973 and 1975, considering: the demands advanced by women activists at the ACTT’s 1973 Annual Conference, the logistics of the investigation, the obstacles to women’s activity, and the function of women’s separate self-organisation.

Trust in the Underground: The Case from the History of “Solidarity”

The article analyses the role of trust in the underground structures of the Polish opposition in the 1980s. The empirical material on which the analysis is based comprises historical sources concerning the history of one of the opposition groups in Warsaw, formed around an underground trade union structure (Inter-Enterprise Coordinating Committee), underground periodical (“Wola”) and a few other oppositional initiatives. The author looks for answers to the following questions: What types of trust can we find in the underground? What did it mean that one conspirator trusted another? and What was trust based on? First, the author characterizes the Solidarity movement after the imposition of martial law and shows why during this time the problem of trust was so important. Then he explains why this topic is interesting and useful not only for a historian of Solidarity but also for other researchers. He places his research in the context of historians’ works about trust, and especially about the problem of trust in communist countries. The author proposes two classifications of trust in the underground. He distinguishes trust regarding the following traits of colleagues: reliability, discretion, and integrity. The second classification concerns the basis for trust. The first type (“old”) is trust based on prior contact. The second type (“new”) is trust built during underground activity. In the conclusion, the author considers the role of trust in underground activity. The author puts forward the thesis that in opposition activities, trust was much more important than shared political views, to which historians of the Polish opposition generally attach great importance.

Maghreb leaders face a growing challenge from unions

Significance Since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s ouster in April, the military-dominated interim authorities have sought to shore up their own position, including by managing the installation of new leaders in key interest groups like the Algerian General Workers’ Union (UGTA). Given the precedent set by Tunisia, where the support of the Tunisian General Workers’ Union (UGTT) for the 2011 revolution was decisive, this comes as no surprise. In Morocco, a fragmented union structure has less clout, but nevertheless protests and strikes over the past three years have played a role in calling the country’s development model into question. Impacts Algerian authorities will hold sway over the UGTA leadership, but fail to win over grassroots members, undermining the union's functioning. Tunisia’s weak political class will struggle to push through planned structural reforms against resistance from the powerful UGTT. In Morocco, strikes and protests will be isolated; they may add pressure for limited reform without threatening the political order. Rabat’s planned national development commission will offer an opportunity for unions to make their voice heard.

Union structure, bounded solidarity and support for redistribution: Implications for building a welfare state

This study unveils the effects of union structure – national, industrial and enterprise unionism – on the solidarity and redistribution preferences of workers. We argue that labor unions have varied scope and levels of solidarity as well as redistribution preferences because solidarity is not naturally given but tends to be cultivated by labor unions. In order to sustain commitment to egalitarian wages and redistributive social policies, a spirit of solidarity must be instilled in the minds of members, especially more privileged workers. Our analysis finds that countries with encompassing unions at national and industry levels have higher levels of overall support for government intervention to reduce income inequality than countries with enterprise unionism. It suggests that welfare state building is not just a function of relative power between labor and capital; union structure and preference formation matter as well.

Divergent occupational pensions in Bismarckian countries: the case of Germany and Austria

Pension reforms and the changing public/private pension mix of the last decades are well documented. However, a more detailed look at the design of occupational pensions reveals remarkable differences even in countries that are usually treated as similar in the literature. Germany and Austria share many similarities and are having to cope with similar reform pressure. However, the design of occupational pensions varies substantially. Why? In Germany, trade unions are regularly involved in occupational pension schemes and benefits are calculated on the basis of defined contributions (DC), but with minimum return guarantees preventing losses in times of financial turmoil. By contrast, trade unions rarely participate in Austrian occupational schemes. In Austria, pure DC schemes without guarantees resulted in heavy occupational pension cuts during the recent financial market crises. Following the method of difference, the article explains this difference by trade union structure, unions’ strategic thinking and (lacking) reform threats supported by employers.