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Can sectionalism be good for solidarity? Some evidence from the maritime construction industry on Tyneside

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jo McBride

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Abstract

Sectionalism has historically been viewed as negative in that it isolates workers from a shared sense of a collective identity thereby weakening solidarity. This paper considers the alternative argument that sectionalism can be good for solidarity. It does this by measuring the collective identity of the workforce in the Tyneside Maritime Construction Industry (TMCI) using mobilization theory as a tool for measurement. It discovers that the collective identity does not necessarily develop in one setting but can develop in different stages and at different levels. It also finds that workers may have an association with different collective identities and therefore, the collective identity may take different forms. The collective identity can also divide as well as unite, which implies 'solidarity within sectionalism', and in turn it is argued that this brings positivity to the TMCI workforce's shared collective identity.

Publication metadata

Author(s): McBride J

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Economic and Industrial Democracy

Year: 2011

Volume: 32

Issue: 2

Pages: 285-306

Print publication date: 06/01/2011

ISSN (print): 0143-831X

ISSN (electronic): 1461-7099

Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143831X10377807

DOI: 10.1177/0143831X10377807

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