Rethinking Union Strategy? Reflections on a Critique of ‘Left Productivism’

ABSTRACT

Buchanan and Briggs (2005) have argued that Australian unions are at a crossroad and need to develop strategies to respond to a deteriorating situation, evidenced by declining union density and the skills crisis. They criticise what they call ‘left productivism’ for failing to provide reliable guideposts for union strategy in the 1980s and 1990s, and for ushering in a period of work intensification under the Accord. This article argues that ‘left productivism’ as deployed in Buchanan and Briggs’ critique is an incoherent concept that fails to accurately depict the historical process of the 1980s and 1990s and fails to register the protagonists and content of the debate about political strategies of that time. This article does not defend ‘left productivism’ per se, but seeks to demonstrate through textual critique and historical analysis that more sensitive conceptual equipment than that provided by Buchanan and Briggs is needed to draw lessons from the Accord period.