‘Justice for Janitors’ goes Dutch: The Limits and Possibilities of Unions’ Adoption of Organising in a Context of Regulated Social Partnership

Organising has been adopted as a strategy for union renewal in the Netherlands, where the dominant repertoire has been consensus-based social dialogue. Certain Dutch unions have developed strategies inspired by the US ‘organising model’ and have been relatively successful in recruiting and mobilising underrepresented workers. Despite some tensions emerging, the introduction of organising resulted in the greater representation of workers in sectors such as cleaning, which has to an extent complemented social dialogue-based strategies. At the same time, the narrative and tactics of organising have stimulated internal debate on union purpose and identity and indirectly contributed to a process of reform and democratisation within parts of the union movement. The research demonstrates the pragmatic features of organising as a strategy for union renewal in a context of regulated social partnership, but also points towards the potential for organising to encourage shifts in the dominant sources of union legitimacy and power.