Tracing developments in British trade union structure over almost 100 years with specific reference to the merger process, this book shows how the underlying processes of change are cyclical. It therefore provides a backdrop for understanding some of the options for structural change that may be adopted by trade unions in the future. Establishing a framework within which the historical development of the merger process may be understood, the book identifies three central sets of relationships: the bargaining position of unions relative to employers and the state; the bargaining position of a union relative to competitor unions; and factional bargaining within unions. Collectively, the three relationships are referred to as the politics of bargaining and are used to explain changes in the rate and character of trade union structural development.

The world of work has changed and so have trade unions with mergers, rebrandings and new unions being formed. The question is, how positioned are the unions to organize the unorganized? With more than three quarters of UK workers unrepresented and the growth of precarious employment and the gig economy this topical new book by Bob Smale reports up-to-date research on union identities and what he terms ‘niche unionism’, while raising critical questions for the future.