How do we build power in coalition? Rethinking union-community coalition types 12 years on

ABSTRACT

Union-community coalitions are an increasingly frequent phenomenon in the industrial landscape. In 2005, ‘There is Power in a Coalition’ sought to build a typology to understand various kinds of coalitions and define their different features. This article reviews that typology then applies it to the Sydney Alliance. The Sydney Alliance is a broad-based coalition of religious organisations, unions and community organisations that uses community organising to make Sydney a better place for everybody. It has included up to eleven unions at its peak and is an example of a Deep Coalition. The article combines the typology and the practices of the Sydney Alliance to build a more complex and detailed understanding of how Deep Coalitions work and what is likely to make them successful.

KEYWORDS:

• Union renewal
• union-community coalitions; social movement unionism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Henry Halloran Trust (Award number 16HT09), based at the University of Sydney.

Notes on contributors

Amanda Tattersall

Dr Amanda Tattersall is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Sydney. She is the founder and former Executive Director of the Sydney Alliance and author of Power in Coalition.