John Hogan
School of
Management
Royal Holloway
University of
London
Egham
Anne-marie
Greene
Industrial
Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group
Warwick Business
School
University of
Warwick
Coventry, CV4
7AL
Using a case
study web site, this paper illustrates how interactional processes of the
Internet have been harnessed by lay trade union activists to both challenge the
oligarchic practices of the formal leadership of their trade union and give
voice to membership interest groups. Such analysis is situated within a
framework of Trade Union Renewal Thesis[1] and
Mobilisation Theory.[2] We look
specifically at the potential of the use of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) in contributing to increased internal democracy,
representativeness and accountability within trade unions, seen as crucial for
the interest formation and identity construction necessary for collective
action.
There
can be no doubt that unions have become less powerful and less demonstrably
effective both in the workplace and at national level across the world.
Commentators within the industrial relations field have debated the constituent
parts of a trade union renewal thesis.[3] Renewal thesis strategies can be classified into two main
areas (although they are obviously interlinked): the first dealing with
recruitment and servicing of members; the second with organising and
mobilising. We focus on the latter area of renewal. In addition, there has been
some recent attention to the positive role that new Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) might
play within union activity.[4] However, the role of new ICTs has currently been
disattended to in the renewal debate in Britain, and therefore, we situate
analysis of the potentialities of the use of ICTs firmly within debates about
strategies for union renewal and mobilising collective action.
We
begin by synthesising debates around union renewal thesis, arguing that organising
and mobilising strategies offer most potential for supporting trade unionism in
the 21st century. We then move to discuss current theorising around
mobilisation.[5] We argue that this analysis does not
elaborate fully enough on the importance of internal union democracy to the
formation of collective interest, nor on the significant role played by
ordinary members and lay activists. To illustrate our argument, we offer a
detailed exposition of the case of the web site www.rogerlyons.com.
Such detail is justified as it stands as one of the most extensive examples of
the auditing, archiving and mobilising capacity of a contemporary lay activist
web site and has been developed in order to force accountability and democratic
processes within a trade union hierarchy.
Existing
research has pointed to the positive potential offered by new ICTs in terms of
aiding organising and organisational effectiveness[6] and in terms of fostering and enhancing
solidarity and collective action.[7] This
primarily involves use of the Internet, including such features as e-mail, web
sites, chat rooms, bulletin boards, and on-line application and voting
mechanisms. We describe such features as e-forms of trade union recruiting,
organising, mobilising, and campaigning.[8] However, research is largely based within the
US context and both academics and trade union practitioners in Britain have
been slow to respond to the opportunities that Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) afford for organisation and mobilisation both with and
beyond sectors and workplaces. In Britain, we lack the quantitative databases
providing information about trade union use of ICTs and application on a
national basis, such as exists in the US.[9]
Such US
research indicates universal use of more basic technologies such as word
processing, and very widespread use of Internet and web-based technologies at
national union level, with statistical analysis demonstrating (overall
qualified and tentative) support for a view of ICTs as enhancing organising and
organisational effectiveness. However, similar assumptions cannot be made
within the British context without comparable data.[10]
In
addition, quantitative data[11] only provides us with a limited picture of the impact of
ICTs on trade union activity. For instance, it offers little understanding of
the social processes involved in technology use by unions, such as we gain from
more qualitative and anecdotal research.[12] Furthermore, the
US quantitative analysis is limited in its exclusive focus on the national
union level, rather than also looking at the local and individual level. There
is thus a need for much more case study and in depth analysis in the British
union context. Elsewhere, we have tried to begin building up a picture of
current use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the British
union context, in particular focusing on the potential offered by ICTs, for
increasing the transparency and accountability of union officials, mobilising
membership activism and extending solidarity across global arenas.[13] Here, such themes
are situated firmly within debates regarding union renewal.
There
has been a distinct move in recent years, away from renewal strategies based
around recruitment and servicing of members (designed to increase membership
numbers) towards organising and mobilising members (designed to increase
participation and activism of members). This is not least because the servicing
strategies of the 1980s and early 1990s appear to have been singularly
unsuccessful. Additionally, the underlying assumptions of such strategies have
been criticised.[14] Deficiencies in union recruitment have
significant consequences for membership retention and participation, and the
reforming of union bargaining agendas. That trade union decision-making
structures are unrepresentative of membership diversity is widely recognised[15] by the
term ‘democracy deficit’ describing the present situation within most British
unions. The low participation of women and minority ethnic union members is
particularly highlighted and must be increased if more people from such
under-represented groups are to be encouraged to join trade unions. Organising
has thus emerged as a strategy of trade union renewal.
First,
areas of potential membership, which have traditionally not been unionised
should be ‘organised’, either recruiting new members in workplaces or ‘in-fill’
recruitment of those non-members in workplaces with union recognition. The most
recent strategies for renewal have focused around the need to develop an
‘organising’ culture within the trade union movement, drawing on similar trends
within the trade union movements in the USA and Australia. Such a strategy has
been actively promoted by the British TUC with its Organising Academy, opened
in 1998.[16] These organisers have been trained to recruit both in
traditional and growth areas of the labour market, and therefore non-standard,
women, young, and minority ethnic workers are particular targets. The first
batch of academy trainees has only just finished training, and so it is too
early to really assess the affects of this particular strategy or of the
diffusion of an organising culture throughout the movement.
Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer potential benefits within this area
of renewal.[17] In summary, the
use of ICTs can overcome difficulties in recruitment involving distance and
cost. In particular, agencies and agents who were traditionally separated by
the physical barriers of distance are now highly proximate electronically- they
are in daily reach and range of one another. In addition, achieving close
physical proximity of union representatives to members is very expensive.
Electronic forms change recruitment frontiers because they enable organisation
on the basis of informal resources, which is less expensive to organise.
In
addition, the TUC ‘Organising Academy’ is charged with attempting to organise
activism within union membership, in other words to mobilise membership: that
is to increase participation and activism of membership within the union and
foster the willingness of members to take collective action. There is much
debate about whether mobilisation should be encouraged[18] and if
it should be, what the strategies are for mobilising union members. Within
these debates, mobilisation theory has emerged as a salient tool of analysis.
Mobilisation theory[19] focuses on the social processes of collective action.
Notably this involves how interests come to be defined as common or
oppositional, the processes by which groups gain the capacity to act
collectively, and the organisation and opportunity requirements for collective
action. Kelly’s interest in mobilisation theory is in exploring how
people come to see their interests as a common concern and generate within a
group, a feeling of injustice, which is powerful enough to move an individual
reaction or attitude to a collective response. Various elements of
relationships and social interactions are seen as important in generating this
sense of injustice and persuading people to come together in collective action
in the trade union context. In particular, the actions of key union activists
or union leaders are seen as crucial in promoting group cohesion and identity,
persuading members of the costs and benefits of collective action and defending
the collective action taken in the face of counter-mobilisation.[20]
Overall,
mobilisation theory is useful in its focus on social processes and in
highlighting the multi-faceted nature of participation and activism in trade
unions.[21] Mobilisation theory[22] emphasises the need to try and gauge the extent to which
members identify with the union organisation and the degree of interaction, or
density of social networks amongst members.[23] However, there are
gaps in the analysis. In particular, improving internal union democracy is not
specifically mentioned[24] in the context of mobilisation theory. This is even though
one might argue that the extent to which someone identifies with a trade union
may rest, at least partly, on how far one feels that their interests are
represented correctly, and can trust that union leaders act in one’s best
interests.
One of
the established pre-requisites of renewal thesis[25] involves the need for union structures and leadership to
be more accountable and more representative, with procedures allowing increased
member participation in decision-making and policy formulation. There is thus
an explicit concern to revive or revitalise the trade union movement by having
decision-making bodies that are more representative of membership. There are of
course also links here with the recruitment aspects of renewal: notably the concern
for union leadership and structures to be more representative of women and
minority ethnic members, such that workers from these social groups might be
attracted into membership. This is also significant in aiding membership
retention, in making union agendas more representative of membership demands,
particularly for those segments particularly under-represented.
Research[26] suggests that local union leaders (in our terms not only
full time officials but also lay representatives and activists), by their
ability to lead in a way that encourages members to become involved and see the
collective implications of issues that arise, can build upon surges of
membership participation and interest, thus increasing the strength of
workplace unionism. A participatory and collectivist style of union leadership
would be more representative (demonstrating commitment to the interests which
members express), more accountable (consulting and reporting back to membership
and adhering to membership decisions), and more involved (drawing members into
workplace decision-making).[27] Such democratic
processes could thus challenge the oligarchy of union leadership.[28] In terms of
mobilisation theory, identification with the union, and willingness to take
collective action in support of that collective organisation, is thus seen as
dependent, at least partly on how accountable, transparent and representative,
the leadership of the union is seen to be.
Technological
developments may have benefits for unions in this area.[29] ICTs clearly have
the potential to refashion union democracy, reducing the distance between
bureaucracy and rank and file that is so harshly criticised. The proximity of
union members to local, regional, national and international on-line trade
union resources, through ICTs, increases the transparency of the behaviour of
union officials to the union membership and enables an independent assessment
of performance of officials, in a manner that was never previously possible.
E-forms also offer a level of transparency through the use of intelligent
auditing and search functions. Such technology is already used by the US
electorate and pressure groups in the monitoring of voting records. It could
also be used by individual union members or groups of members to muster and manage
the performance profiles of key organisational actors and activities, well
beyond the traditional surveillance capacity and skills of union membership.
An
additional weakness with mobilisation theory, is that there is a lot of emphasis
on the role of the union leader and one might question, where does such a
viewpoint leave the ordinary lay member? Furthermore, much of the existing
research has also looked at the use of ICTs by national union organisations and
full time officials.[30] The old adage that
‘the union is its members’ seems to stand at odds with the dominant debate
around the need for union leaders to promote, persuade and transform the
interests and identities of members. A different view is to focus on how lay
members can play a vital role in defining both substantive issues relevant to
the union, and the styles of behaviour that union representatives can adopt.[31] The relationship
between union leaders and lay members is thus seen more as a two way process,
where the lay membership are considered as an important constraint on leader
action. However it is important that the lay membership have sufficient
channels to make themselves heard and force union leaders to be accountable and
representative.
It is
useful to focus in on the local level of trade union organisations: in terms of
activists, those at branch and workplace level, whilst also looking at the
participation and involvement of ordinary lay members.[32] Such local level analysis then begins to draw
out the importance of recognising alternative interests and identities of union
members,[33] where a variety of different interests and identities are
seen as ‘fusing’ with that of workplace-based identity concerns. There is
little understanding of how recognition and representation of these wider
interests might contribute to the fostering of collective identity and
mobilisation of collective action.[34] We argue that trade unions must be seen to offer spaces
for the voicing of a variety of interests, and to represent such interests
effectively in the name of union democracy (representativeness, accountability,
and transparency) if collective mobilisation is possible.
It is
interesting to debate how the dispersed methods of communication and
information distribution facilitated by new ICTs, might offer benefits in this
regard, indeed ICTs are seen as ‘providing
a material basis for transforming unions into more ‘discursive’ forms of
organisation’ .[35] ICTs can be used
as complementary tools of collective identity to more traditional forms, making
it less important to work on a permanent membership basis for many levels of
solidarity actions.[36]
In
summary, the need for organising and mobilising members has become a prominent
part of trade union strategies for renewal. However existing debate and
research has neglected to consider three key areas. The first involves the
importance of increased internal union democracy as a tool of mobilisation.
Secondly, much analysis has disattended to the important role played by lay
members and activists outside of the official union leadership hierarchy,
exploring the voicing of varied membership interest groups, necessary for the
formation of collective interests. Thirdly, there is a little discussion of the
potential of new ICTs in these areas of increased union democracy and interest
voicing. We use our case study web site as an illustrative example of how the
use of ICTs has enabled activists outside of the central union hierarchy to
increase the transparency and accountability of their union leaders.
The case study web site has
been created by a lay activist of the British trade union Manufacturing,
Science, Finance (MSF). MSF is Britain’s fifth largest trade union with around
420,000 members. Its membership consists largely of professional and skilled
workers drawn from both the private and public sectors, thirty-three per cent
of which are women, although the leadership remains white and male dominated.
At the time of writing, MSF was in negotiations with the AEEU (Amalgamated
Electrical and Engineering Union) for a possible merger, a context which holds
greater significance in light of events detailed below.
Material for analysis has been
gathered largely on the Internet, surveying the official and unofficial web
sites associated with MSF. The chronology of events, proceedings of testimonies
and internal union interactions were acquired primarily through the web site www.rogerlyons.com.
In addition, analysis has been made of popular media coverage of the events.
Finally, contact has been made with MSF officials and the manager of the site www.rogerlyons.com.
It should be made clear that we are presenting the data as made available in
the public domain at the time of writing. We cannot externally corroborate the
authenticity or legality of claims made, or of evidence presented in the web
sites and public media we have explored. Thus, any assertions made are based on
the evidence available within these public domains and are open to
interpretation. In addition, the web sites are updated frequently, and we can
only verify the content of web sites at the time of writing.
The background to the creation
of the web site revolves around a number of recent allegations of abuses of
union resources by officers at the apex of MSF, which have begun to reach the
public domain through popular media and web site channels. We present the case
through four sections. The first provides a chronology of the main relevant
events. We then move on to explore how the allegations of misconduct have been
processed within the official union organisation. We then offer detailed
analysis of the www.rogerlyons.com web site itself, highlighting the way in
which the controversies have been appropriated and mobilised within cyberspace.
Finally we reflect upon the significance of the site in light of debate around
trade union renewal, mobilisation and internal democracy.
The context under discussion begins in
early 1999, when Marcia Solomon, who was formerly employed in the MSF Finance
Department as PA to the Head of Finance Nelson Mendes, passed on information
gained in the course of her employment about the financial behaviour of the
General Secretary Roger Lyons and Mendes to the then Assistant General
Secretary, John Chowcat. Lyons and Mendes were accused of petty and major
fraud. The alleged major fraud consisted of setting up false bank accounts in
the name of non-existent union branches, known as shell accounts, paying union
funds into these and then paying it out to Lyons’ and Mendes’ accounts. In
addition, Solomon claimed she had seen mention of accounts relating to these
two branches in the official accounts for the union, held by the Unity Trust
Bank. The petty fraud allegations involved unauthorised loans, bogus expenses
claims and misuse of Lyons’ credit card. Amongst the revelations is that Lyons
has managed to get the union to pay for household items, quantities of alcohol,
and petrol allowance for family holiday. A host of other minor expenses claims
have also been revealed, including ‘a
claim on his credit card for a 25p bun from Patisserie Valerie in Soho’
(Guardian, May 23, 2000).
This initial
‘whistle-blowing’ disclosure, then set into motion a whole train of events. In
particular, the involvement of the Assistant General Secretary, John Chowcat is
highlighted, who brought the allegations to the attention of the union
hierarchy. Investigations by the MSF General Purposes and Finance Committee,
Personnel Manager and MSF accountants, found no evidence to corroborate the
allegations made. Chowcatt’s reward for raising concerns was the charge of gross
misconduct. He was accused of promoting
the allegations so as to gain factional advantage. The
panel selected for the disciplinary proceedings concluded that Chowcat should
be dismissed. However, the decision to dismiss Chowcat was not executed. Instead,
a “compromise agreement” was reached, an undeclared severance deal that is
thought to amount to £250,000, along with pension supplements, in exchange for
a silent departure.
After a Certification
Officer’s report had been made, vindicating Lyons and Mendes, Solomon decided
to declare to the union the full extent of her involvement in providing Chowcat
with information. Her testimony at an investigation meeting (reproduced in full
at www.rogerlyons.com),
chaired by the personnel manager Tony Ayres, on August 26th 1999, at
the office of the MSF, reveals that she was alarmed at the failure of the
investigations and was concerned that the union address the allegations
properly. Solomon repeated the accusations of serious fraud. She also pointed
out that another member of staff could corroborate her claim that cheques had
been made out to Lyons and Mendes from the fictitious branch accounts. However,
the testimony indicates her concerns that union officials did not investigate
the validity of her claims, indeed when she challenged Ayres as to what he
proposed to do about investigating this other witness:
He
simply said that he was investigating the affidavit that I had submitted and
that this other staff member had not submitted an affidavit. That was where it was left.
This appeared to have
caused Solomon alarm, for she went on to state:
The fact that Tony was so
dismissive of the possible relevance of the evidence from another staff member
confirmed to me that they were interested only in finding a way to terminate my
employment, not to understand why I had made the disclosure.
What is more, Solomon
clearly regarded her position as particularly parlous, given that
No credence was ever given to
the fact that all my other allegations of unauthorised loans, unwarranted
expense claims and credit card abuse had been substantiated.
Eventually, a
disciplinary hearing was convened on December 1st 1999. It was
decided that Solomon was to be dismissed. Solomon appealed against the decision
within the specified time limits, but the MSF refused to hear her case. In July
2000 Marcia Solomon, backed by her union the GMB, took the MSF to an Employment
Tribunal. As she states in her Witness Statement (also reproduced on www.rogerlyons.com):
When I was dismissed, I was
told that, by making unsubstantiated allegations about financial impropriety
taking place at the highest level within MSF, I had breached the trust and
confidence expected of a member of staff and had brought MSF into disrepute. By
contrast, I will say that the primary reason for my dismissal was that I had
"blown the whistle" on this financial impropriety, specifically
because I had alleged it was being perpetrated by Roger Lyons, the General
Secretary, and Nelson Mendes, the Head of Finance... In making my disclosure to
an appropriate person, the Assistant General Secretary John Chowcat (whose
employment has also now terminated), I acted in good faith and without any
desire for personal gain.
After four days, the
Chair of the Employment Tribunal halted proceedings. It was apparent that MSF
could not maintain a credible defence. Instead, on the fifth day, an out of
court settlement was announced. According to the Guardian newspaper:
Marcia Solomon…won a £50,000
tax-free payment in a £140,000 out of court settlement... The deal involves the
MSF union paying £50,000 plus VAT to cover the legal expenses of the GMB union,
which defended its former shop steward. The MSF is also agreeing to take no
action against any of its staff who acted as witnesses for Ms Solomon.[37]
However, the case has not
ended here. Since the ruling at Solomon’s employment tribunal, MSF has been
involved in two other public incidences of what can only be seen as attempts to
close down debate about these accusations. This has involved a retirement
settlement with a senior official who had threatened to air further accusations
at a tribunal,[38] and the case of Roger Lyon’s former chauffeur, who has
filed an unfair dismissal suit against the union, due for a hearing in January
2001.[39]
Public press coverage has
been particularly derogatory of the conduct of the union. Indeed, such is the
depth of the crisis of legitimacy, it has been claimed that the General
Secretary of the TUC, John Monks, has advised Roger Lyons to resign. What is
more, the press have suggested that during the present run up to the proposed
merger between the MSF and the AEEU, the Prime Minister Tony Blair has
intervened to insist to Ken Jackson, the general secretary of the latter
organisation, that no space be left after merger for Lyons.[40] The
interesting context of events here is that the motivation for such a demand is
unlikely to be due to political differences between the Prime Minister and
Lyons, indeed the latter has been a consistent loyalist. What is more, the
proposed union merger can be regarded as a manoeuvre that will actually
increase the weight of Blairism within the trade union movement. Instead, we
would argue on the basis of the evidence in the public domain that it appears
that the accusations against Lyons are regarded as so serious and damming as to
constitute a potentially long-term embarrassment.
Pressure for action upon
the MSF leadership has also been expressed by members of the union in the
letter pages of the Guardian. Of particular note is the petition posted in the
letters page of the paper on July 20th, 2000. Headed by the former
Labour MP, Dave Nellist and signed by 133 MSF members, the letter read as
follows,
We have followed your articles
on our union with horror and regret...There is only one course of action which
can restore the union's good name. That is to conduct a new investigation by
people with no previous connection with MSF. We call on the MSF executive to
arrange for such an investigation to be carried out without delay and to
publish the findings in full to MSF members and to the general public. And if
it is discovered that wrongdoing has taken place, to ensure the perpetrators
are removed from their posts.
Away from the terrain of
the mass media, there is considerable evidence that there are significant
sections of the union that are not satisfied with the performance of their
leadership in relation to the substance and processing of the allegations.
Attention has been considerably sharpened by the fact that the union was going
through a dramatic financial crisis. It was estimated that MSF was in midst of
a financial shortfall of some £3 million.[41] Activities were threatened with suspension
and union staff faced the possibility of redundancy. Yet, the union paid out
nearly £1 million in 2000 in pursuing failed legal battles connected with the
aftermath of the allegations of corruption. The latter part of 2000 saw a
proliferation of motions passed by MSF branches calling for the reopening of
investigations into the allegations made by Solomon and others. In addition,
eight of the MSF’s fourteen regional councils have demanded that Lyons resign
and that the union hold an inquiry.[42] It has even been
claimed that up to 20 MSF full time officials, many of whom are identified as
having been traditionally loyal to Lyons, have joined the GMB, the union
responsible for representing Solomon. Finally, the Certification Officer has
been approached once more and called upon to reinvestigate the accusations of
malpractice.
Despite this, the General
Secretary continues to assert his innocence and refuses to step down. On August
5th, 2000, Lyons and his allies won a 26-1 vote for a motion that
condemned ‘recent misrepresentations in the
media’ - and appealed to rank and file critics to give their leader ‘the same right to fair treatment as they
would expect themselves’.[43] However,
the campaigns to reopen investigations and force the resignation of the general
secretary continue.
Beyond the events just
discussed, critics of Lyons and the leadership of MSF have pointed to a number
of incidents that they believe indicate a lack of willingness to investigate
allegations thoroughly and reveal marked tendencies towards the suppression of
free debate and disclosure. These incidents fall into three areas: attempts to
remove dissenting voices, attempts to cover up discrepancies and attempts to
shut down discussion.
I) The removal of
dissenting voices
Attention has been drawn
to the way in which Chowcat was treated. That he alone should be suspended,
while the accused should remain at post has been heavily criticised for being
inexplicable in terms of due process or fair treatment. It conveys the
impression that Chowcat was at fault and that Lyons and Mendes were not. What is interesting is the consequence of
these actions for the management of opinion in the union:
Lyons made good use of the
advantage he had achieved, organising a series of meetings for full-time
officers and staff round the country. At these meetings he or a close associate
briefed the others on the Lyons’ version of events. This was clearly important
in influencing the overall response within the union. It is reputed that Mendes
also made good use of his time, with reports that he was seen leaving Head
Office in the early hours carrying boxes of documents. (MacGrillen, 2000)
ii) Covering up
discrepancies
The conduct of the
investigations by the union accountants has also been called into question. In
short, the objectivity and independence of the investigation is called into
question due to the fact that the company has a long history of relations with
MSF, which has seen the firm go beyond the provision of accountancy services,
with intricate involvement in financial and personnel policy making. So,
although the investigation was conducted by a department of the firm with no
previous involvement with MSF, the extensive and intensive relationship between
the company and union has provoked, in some quarters, serious disquiet about
the capacity of the former to impartially judge the behaviour of officials
within the latter. That doubt might prevail was given extra impetus when
Solomon took the MSF to the Employment Tribunal in July 2000. Her expert
witness, a forensic accountant, heavily criticised the accountants’ report,
indicating that the investigations had been far from exhaustive or
comprehensive.
iii) Shutting down
discussion
When dissenters within
the union tried to question the process of investigation and discipline, it was
made abundantly clear that critical scrutiny was unwelcome. For instance, Hugh
MacGillen, the Secretary of the London Regional Council of MSF, wrote on behalf
of the London Management Committee, voicing dissatisfaction with the dismissal
of John Chowcat and demanding an open investigation of all claims. However the
President’s reply does not convey a spirit of open discussion:
I believe that your letter
indicates a gross interference in matters concerning relations with MSF
employees, officers and staff, and violates their rights to agreed procedures.
I shall be referring your letter and its contents to the next NEC meeting for
the NEC to consider whether any further action is necessary. [44]
What is more, Cooke
subsequently sent two more circulars to branches and Regions strongly advising
them not to discuss the matter at all.
Restrictions upon
discussion were also experienced at the union’s 1999 Annual Conference. Here is
one account of how the leadership processed the issue:
Conference
did not discuss the current allegations of corruption in the union after a
ruling by the President. The events had generated intense interest in the
run-up to Conference. A large number of emergency motions were submitted. When
the Standing Orders Committee sifted through these, they declared that only two
were in order, from London branches as it happens. But before Conference could
decide what it wanted to do with these, the President took matters into his own
hands. He made a lengthy statement, as he had previously notified the
Conference he would do. The gist of his argument was that the circumstances
were governed by Rule 47c) on disciplinary action against full-time officials
and it would prejudice the procedures to discuss the matter in Conference. He
therefore ruled that no discussion could take place.[45]
The drive to remove
Chowcatt and the processing of his departure are also suggestive of a desire to
manage and conceal information. A decision had been made to dismiss Chowcatt
for “gross misconduct”. Yet, a “compromise agreement” was found that saw the
union provide what is widely thought to be generous package of financial
benefits in exchange for a muted departure. This course seems contradictory,
unless one acknowledges that fear of public disclosure of the allegations
weighed more heavily upon the minds of the union leadership than the apparent
incompatibility of providing generous financial benefits to an officer who they had claimed was deemed unfit for
office.
When members and
activists attempted to challenge the secrecy surrounding the terms of the
Chowcatt severance deal, it is alleged that their inquiries were simply brushed
aside and in some cases met with threats of legal action. One particular incident
is worthy of note. An article appeared in the London Region Bulletin of MSF
towards the end of 1999, entitled “SCANDAL IN MSF”, which highlighted that
allegations of corruption had been made and that a lack of openness prevailed
within the union. Lyons instructed his
solicitors to respond. Colin Ettinger of Irwin Mitchell wrote,
"….there is an article
called 'Scandal in MSF.' This concerns allegations concerning 'misconduct in
MSF over the last several years.' Again this does not relate to local issues or
indeed advance the interests and policies of the union...There is an issue
relating to the costs of this publication. I would anticipate that the union is
already committed into a contract to pay the publication costs and these would
have to be met. However, those who may have sanctioned the printing of this
journal will have done so beyond their remit. In such circumstances it may well
be the case that they should be responsible for any of the publication
costs...I would also draw your attention to rules concerning disciplinary
action to take against individuals. In particular an individual can be removed
from office if they have been found to be 'guilty of defalcation of the union's
funds.' Defalcation of course means misappropriation. Payment for a
journal/newsletter which has been commissioned in breach of the union rules may
well, in my view, amount to such a breach."[46]
Apparently, Roger Lyons
read this letter out to the Regional Council.
He also received the support of the NEC in preventing publication of the
bulletin. What is more, it is claimed
that the General Secretary went so far as to contact the bulletin printers to
tell them that would not be paid for their work.[47]
In many ways Solomon’s
Tribunal hearing and the growing interest of the press in the corruption
allegations, which accompanied the build up to and aftermath of the case, are
thought to be the most significant forces bringing the details of the case to
the attention of the MSF membership. Yet, the press was not the only communicative
arena in which members of the union have begun to gain greater access to the
allegations about the conduct of their leadership. One of the consequences of
the Solomon case was to finally to place some core documents in the hands of
MSF members. We now move on to look at the way in which the controversies in
MSF have been processed on an unofficial web site set up by a lay activist.
This site is at the
centre of the cyber campaign against the leadership of MSF and was set up by
David Beaumont, a lay activist within the union. He created the site after
reading the first Guardian article to expose the allegations:
I was outraged when I read the Guardian article…I only buy the
Guardian occasionally, but I use email every day. Other union members would
email me newspaper stories as they came out and I began collating links to
them. When I had a dozen or so it occurred to me that I could publish them on a
web site... The site is there mainly to let people know what is going on by
providing links to legal documents, details of Lyons' expenses and newspaper
articles. (www.rogerlyons.com)
The main
features of the site (at time of writing) are as follows. The home page greets
the visitor with a colour cartoon figure of Roger Lyons, a caricature of one of
the figures from the TV cartoon series, The
Simpsons. Out of the mouth of the figure comes the speech bubble, “Mmmm…buns”, a humorous reference to the
claim he made on his credit card for a 25p bun from Patisserie Valerie in Soho.
The home page also has graphics of beer, food and hi-fi equipment swirling
around the page, present at all times, to remind the reader of the goods and
services that the union’s general secretary is suggested to have availed
himself of. In order to help assess the readership of the site, and the impact
that it has made, there is also a specification of the number of visits that
the site has received. In only six months of operating the site claimed over
ten thousand hits.
The site also encourages
email participation in discussion and opinion polls. Frequently throughout the
pages of the site, the reader is invited to email the author to make comments
on the site itself or on the issues discussed. There are also invitations to
participate in electronic discussions, at one point, readers are invited to
write to MPs who are MSF members. A feature that was added in November 2000 is
an invitation to the visitor to register an online vote on two key questions.
First, ‘Should Roger Lyons resign?’
Second, ‘Do you think that MSF should
merge with AEEU?’ In addition, the visitor can inspect how the votes are
progressing. On November 20th, the votes in favour of resignation
stood at nearly 90%, whilst a similar proportion rejected the proposed merger.
Thus, wider issues and concerns are brought into the discussion. Although sight
has not been lost of the principal aim: the exposure and removal of Lyons and
others implicated in the alleged corruption, it has also begun to widen its
remit to provide a critique of the forthcoming proposed merger with the AEEU.
To this end, there are links to detailed articles and commentaries that call into
question the value of the merger and raise questions about the ways in which
the MSF leadership is trying to mobilise and justify support.
One of the site’s
principal strengths is in providing a detailed archive of events, associated
materials and connected links. Indeed, the chronology of events presented in
this paper would have been much more difficult and time-consuming without the
resources offered by this site. For example, there is a link to “Roger in the News”. In this section the
visitor can see at a glance that the allegations of corruption have featured in
at least 27 national newspaper articles in the previous six months. Each of
these pieces, bar one, can be viewed electronically, at the click of a button.
The stories cover the allegations, the denials by Lyons and other senior
figures in MSF, as well as reports about the proceedings and outcome of the
various Employment Tribunal cases, along with references to the dissent
expressed within sections of the union. As a resource, this centralised
referencing, combined with the automated links to the source materials, is
highly valuable in providing a means to gain an overview of events at high
speed and low cost.
In particular, the site
contains a link devoted to the case between Marcia Solomon and MSF. This is an
amazingly detailed resource. Here, one can see an affidavit by Solomon, along
with a 13,000 word, highly detailed, Witness Statement submitted at the London
North Employment Tribunal for her case held in July 2000. There is also the opportunity
to read the Aide Memoire provided by Chowcat for the case. In addition, there
is a day-by-day account of the tribunal, with accounts of the conduct of
witnesses, lawyers and Tribunal members, as well as reports of stories and
rumours circulating around the court. Added to this is a further link entitled,
“Lyons Defence”. This contains a
paper that details a document that was circulated by MSF to the NEC, branch
secretaries and delegates to conference. The document is alleged to be the work
of the MSF Public Relations Department, although it contains no specification
of author. It contains a systematic rebuttal of the accusations made against
Lyons. The paper analyses the case for the defence and disputes each point. In
addition, there are links to documents that provides lengthy and detailed
analysis of the alleged corruption and also provide a precise description of
the union general secretary’s expenses.
David Beaumont is clear
about the objectives of the site, which can be gained through links to Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQS). Analysis of this rationale indicates firstly, concerns
of the costs, both financial and in terms of reputation, of the way that the
union leadership appeared to be covering up the accusations detailed above:
My ultimate aim is to get rid
of what I see as the corruption in this union that oozes from the top down.
Secondly, concerns for
the union leadership to be more accountable to and representative of membership
views, taking into consideration the participation of lay members are
presented:
I would like the union to be
more accountable to its lay (unpaid) members. In the rules the Annual
Conference of lay members is the supreme governing body of the union, in
practice the NEC just ignores or subverts it. The lay members' democracy is
constructed into regional councils. By the end of July more than half the
Regional Councils had passed motions for Lyons to resign or face a new,
independent inquiry. The NEC have refused to print these motions in their
minutes, let alone discuss them.
Thirdly, David Beaumont
highlights some of the advantages offered by electronic forms of communication,
supporting existing research. In particular, speed of dissemination and
interaction facilitated by new ICTs is emphasised:
..I find maintaining the web
site relatively quick and easy. Email is particularly useful, with 10 minutes
work I managed to email every single MSF employee last week and all 79 MSF MPs
this week. I just wouldn't consider writing paper letters for that..
At the
centre of the message disseminated on the site is a rejection of Roger Lyon’s
defence, supported with reference to official and internal documents (also
reproduced in full for the visitor). David Beaumont claims to have no party
political affiliation. Instead, his activity centres upon the union.
I just want to be a member of
an open, democratic and honest union. Is that too much?
Although the online
documentation is significant, there are a number of other features that are
particularly noteworthy. Firstly, the site provides space for those who are
marginalised within the union. In a sense, the whole theme of the site is that
of providing information to, along with a voice for, the blinded and gagged.
Secondly, the site demonstrates the capabilities inherent within the new ICTs
to allow for the rapid and cheap posting of sophisticated mobilisation
materials. On the home page, there was an invitation to “Meet Roger”. On clicking this link, the visitor was notified of a
meeting:
Roger Lyons is coming to the
Yorkshire and Humberside regional meeting on Saturday 18 November at 10:30 am.
in Wakefield Town Hall opposite the Prison. The meeting is open all MSF
members. Ask him to autograph your expense claim.
The notice contained a
high resolution picture of Lyons, thus making him more readily identifiable,
but also it contained a further link to Wakefield Town Hall, which if clicked
brought up a detailed Ordinance Survey map, so that all those who might wish to
go to the meeting could find the venue more easily.
The site also contains
reference to activities that indicate an awareness of the potential for the
‘e-form’ to break through organisational boundaries and to be used as a
distinct weapon of insurgency. Here, particular attention needs to be paid to
the link, “Staff Edition”, which when
opened revealed an emailed memo sent to all MSF staff encouraging them to visit
the site. The significance of this communication is that given one can assume
access to the at least near complete list of staff email addresses, the
campaign to publicise the case against Lyons can reach the target audience in a
matter of minutes. Furthermore, the rich content of the emailed memo, with
direct hyperlinks to different parts of the www.rogerlyons.com site effectively places an
opportunity to view the contents of the web site of the site in every email
in-tray.
The implications of the www.rogerlyons.com
site are hard to measure with precision, especially at this early stage.
However, there is little doubt that it is important. It has already received
coverage in local and national press, it has been featured in protests
organised and reported at this the 2000 TUC conference, and has received a
remarkably high number of visits. What is more, it has been reported that MSF
have instructed lawyers to take action to close down the site[48] illustrating the significance of the threat that the site
is seen to pose. As an aside, it is worth noting that the threat of closing
down the www.rogerlyons.com
site has already been anticipated and guarded against. Visitors have been
warned that the site might not be there when they next log on, but that all
they have to do is go to www.notrogerlyons.com, a mirror site where all
the materials will be transferred. Given the centrality of forcing greater
openness to the site’s campaign, the threat of being banned gives the site even
greater cache.
The significance of the debate
around this site is that it clearly links into our previous discussions
regarding union democracy, voicing of interests and mobilisation of collective
action. Arguments about oligarchy, have focused on the way that information can
become the exclusive property of a small group of ‘elite’ union officials at
the apex of the union hierarchy. The www.rogerlyons.com web site challenges this
exclusivity, in a context where there appear to have been official efforts to
prevent the disclosure of information and to clamp down on discussion. The web
site provides a space for the voicing of grievances and the creative
manipulation and presentation of information, which allow people to make up
their own minds about the events occurring within their own union domain. It
also allows particular events and issues to be linked to wider concerns and
interest groups. It demonstrates clearly the way in which ICTs can more easily
facilitate the two-way interaction processes within the union hierarchy, with
ordinary members and lay activists finding the spaces to make their opinions
and views heard amongst a wider audience, cheaply and very quickly.
The documents reproduced on
the website are not ordinarily and easily available to the lay member. While
some clandestine circulation obviously would, and did occur, this web site
places the material within easy access of a much wider audience. We can
therefore reiterate our arguments that the proximity of union members to local,
regional, national and international on-line trade union resources, through
ICTs, increases the transparency of the behaviour of union officials to the
union membership and enables an independent assessment of performance of
officials, in a manner that was never previously possible. In addition, through
a well constructed archive, lay members can trace and track through the
unfolding of events; assessing the activities of the leadership over time, and
preventing external agencies from breaking their history by disrupting the
social relationships which constitute union solidarity. It is as repositories
of collective memory that unions can give shape to conceptions of the past,
present and future and in doing so construct sustainable worker identity.
What gives the site its
greatest meaning is perhaps what it represents in abstraction. It may well be
the case that the insurgency fails. After all, the internal machinations of any
union, no matter how bizarre or dramatic, will more often than not pass the
ordinary member by: it is highly probable that for the time being this drama is
one that is going to exercise the passions of only a small group of activists
and full-time officials. It is difficult at this early stage to assess what the
real impact of the site has been in terms of the playing out of events around
the accusations made against Roger Lyons. One may argue for example that events
became too serious, and too wide-reaching to be covered up by officials and
public coverage was inevitable. Indeed, it must be remembered that the initial
impetus for the web site derived from the author reading about details of the
case in a national newspaper article. However, the site has had more impact
since then, allowing the speedy and most up to date coverage of events,
providing a detailed archive and repository of documents and opinion, and
providing easy, cheap and fast means of responding and participating in the
discussion.
There is little doubt that
such cyberspaces will become increasingly important in the future, as Internet
use increases and electronic forms of communication become more and more
habitual. At this point in time, what the www.rogerlyons.com site indicates is that
cyberspace is a place where traditional patterns of cognitive policing cannot
be exercised. What is interesting therefore, is that academics and
practitioners, in the trade union arena have not really come to fully discuss
the implications of new ICT developments for trade union action, particularly
at lay activist level. Further research into the use of electronic forms could
provide useful spaces for theorising about the nature of collective
participation and mobilisation.
Bacon N. and Storey, J. (1996),
‘Individualism, collectivism and the changing role of trade unions’, in
P.Ackers, C. Smith and P. Smith The new
workplace and trade unionism, London: Routledge.
Batstone, E., Boraston, I. and Frenkel,
S. (1977), Shop Stewards in Action: The
Organisation of Work Place Conflict and Accommodation, Basil Blackwell:
Oxford.
Beynon, H. (1973), Working for Ford,
Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Black, J., Greene, A.M. and Ackers, P.
(1997) ‘Size and Effectiveness: A Case Study of a Small Union’, Industrial Relations Journal, 28, 2, 136-148.
Cockburn, C (1995) ‘Strategies for Gender Democracy’, Brussels: European Commission.
Darlington, R. (1994), The Dynamics of Work Place Unionism: Shop
Stewards' Organisation in Three Merseyside Plants, London: Mansell.
Dickens, L (1997) ‘Gender, Race and
Employment Equality in Britain: Inadequate Strategies and the Role of
Industrial Relations Actors’, Industrial
Relations Journal, 28:4, 282-289.
Fairbrother, P. (1989), ‘Work place
trade unionism in the 1980's: A process of renewal’, Studies for trade unionists London: Workers Educational
Association, Vol. 15, 57.
Fiorito, J. (2000), ‘IT, Union
organising and detours along the way’, paper presented at the LSE industrial
relations seminar series, November 2000.
Fosh,
P. (1993), ‘Membership Participation and Work Place Trade Unionism: The
Possibility of Renewal’, British Journal
of Industrial Relations, Dec, 577-92.
Fosh,
P. & Heery, E. (1990), Trade Unions
and their Members: Studies in Trade union democracy and Organisation,
London: Macmillan.
Gall, G. (1999), ‘The prospects for
workplace trade unionism: evaluating Fairbrother’s union renewal thesis’, Capital and Class, 66, 149-157.
Greene, A.M.,
Hogan, J. and Grieco, M. (2000), ‘E-Collectivism: Emergent Opportunities for
Renewal’, in B. Stanford-Smith and P. K. Kidd (eds.), E-Business: Key Applications, Processes and Technologies, 845-853.
IOS Press: Omashu.
Heery, E, Simms, M., Delbridge, R,
Salmon, J., Simpson, D. (2000), ‘The Organising Academy: An assessment’, Paper
presented to the 18th Annual
International Labour Process Conference, April, Glasgow.
Hencke, D (2000a) ‘Union pays £140,000
over expenses case’, The Guardian,
Saturday July 8.
Hencke, D (2000b) ‘Third tribunal payout
gags MSF allegations: Union official drops victimisation case for £200,000
retirement deal.’ The Guardian,
Tuesday July 18.
Hencke, D (2000c) ‘Lavish spending union told to make £3m
savings’, The Guardian, Friday
September 22.
Hencke,
D (2000d) ‘No 10 tries to bar
Lyons’, The Guardian, Friday
September 22.
Hencke,
D (2000e) ‘MSF chief in No 10
talks’, The Guardian, Saturday
September 2.
Hogan J. and Grieco. M. S. (2000),
“Trade Unions on line: technology, transparency and bargaining power”, in
M.Donnelly and S. Roberts (eds.), Working together for change, Proceedings of the Second Scottish Trade Union Research Network Conference.
Hyman, R. (1997). ‘The future of
employee representation’, British Journal
of Industrial Relations, 35:3, 309-336.
Hyman, R. (1995), ‘Changing union
identities in Europe’, in P. Leisink, J. Van Leemput and J. Vilrokx (eds.) The challenges to trade unions in Europe,
Aldershot: Edward Elgar.
Kelly, J. (1998) Rethinking industrial relations: mobilisation, collectivism and long
waves, London: Routledge.
Kelly, J. (1996) ‘Union militancy and
social partnership’ in P.Ackers, C. Smith and P. Smith The new workplace and trade unionism, London: Routledge.
Labour Research (1998) ‘Are Women out of
Proportion?’, March, London: LRD, 12-14.
Lee, E. (1997), The Labour movement and the Internet: the new internationalism, , Pluto Press: London.
Michels, R. (1915) Political parties: A sociological study of oligarchical tendencies in
modern democracy’, Glencoe: Free Press.
MacGrillen, H. (2000) Is MSF a corrupt
Organisation? http://www.londondefencecampaign.freeserve.co.uk/msfcorrupt.htm
Pliskin N., Romm, C. T., and Markey, R.
(1997), ‘E-mail as a weapon in an industrial dispute’, New technology, Work and Employment, 12: 1, 3-12.
Shostak, A. B. (1999), Cyberunion: empowering labor through
computer technology, M.E. Sharpe.
Tilly, C. (1978) From mobilization to revolution, New York: Mcgraw Hill.
Waddington, J. & Whitson, C. (1992), ‘Why Sign Up? New Trade Union Members
Reasons for Joining’, IRRR Research Review, 6.
White, M (2000), ‘Union
leader apologises for flawed judgement but refuses to quit’, The Guardian, Monday August 7.
[1] Fairbrother,
1989; Gall, 1999; Heery et al, 2000
[2] Kelly,
1998
[3] Notably
Peter Fairbrother (1989) and which has also taken up by Fosh (1993), Gall
(1999) and Heery et al (2000)
[4] Greene
et al, 2000; Hogan and Grieco, 2000; Lee, 1997; Fiorito, 2000; Shostak, 1999;
Pliskin et al, 1997
[5] Most
recently developed in John Kelly’s (1998) book Rethinking industrial relations: mobilization, collectivism and long
waves
[6] Fiorito, 2000; Lee, 1997
[7] Shostak,
1999; Pliskin et al, 1997
[8] Greene
et al, 2000
[9] Fiorito,
2000
[10] Lee
(1997) offers a useful compendium of the ways in which ICTs might be used as
tools of union activity of all kinds, but the analysis is more limited in its
theoretical development about the nature of union participation and collective
action.
[11] Such
as that offered by Fiorito (2000)
[12] Found
in Shostak (1999) and Pliskin et al, 1997
[13] Greene
et al, 2000; Hogan and Grieco, 2000
[14] See
summary in Greene et al, 2000; Waddington and Whitson, 1992; Black et al, 1997
[15] Labour Research, 1998; Dickens, 1997), and Cockburn (1995)
[16] Heery
et al, 2000
[17] Greene
et al 2000
[18] Bacon
and Storey, 1996; Kelly, 1996, 1998
[19] John Kelly (1998) and particularly drawn from Tilly, 1978
[20] Kelly,
1998: 35
[21] See
also Fosh, 1993
[22] As
espoused by Tilly (1978)
[23] 1998:
37
[24] By
Kelly (1998)
[25] See
Fairbrother, 1989; Gall, 1999
[26] Fosh’s
(1993)
[27] Fosh
and Heery, 1990
[28] Michels, 1915
[29] Greene
et al, 2000
[30] Fiorito,
2000
[31] Beynon,
1973; Darlington, 1994
[32] Such
a local or micro focus is found in the US context in the work of Shostak (1999)
[33] This
is a critical point made in John Kelly's final chapter on Postmodernism and the labour movement. It is interesting however,
that such arguments come late in the volume and are not directly related to the
processes of mobilisation.
[34] Richard Hyman’s analysis (1997; 1995) offers some further elaboration, recognising the way in which collective interests as citizens, as well as more personalised life-style concerns are forming part (or should form part) of trade union representation.
[35] Hyman,
1997: 326
[36] Greene et al, 2000
[37] Hencke 2000a
[38] Hencke,
2000b
[39] Hencke,
2000c
[40] Hencke,
2000d
[41] Hencke,
2000c
[42] Hencke, 2000e
[43] White,
2000
[44] MacGrillen,
2000
[45] MacGrillen, 2000
[46] MacGrillen,
2000
[47] MacGrillen, 2000
[48] Hencke,
2000c