Old Habits Die Hard? The Role of Trade Union Identity and Framing Processes in Shaping Strategy

This article investigates whether differences in trade union identity can explain local and national variations in union strategy. To do so, it compares the divergent responses of unions to healthcare privatisation initiatives across six cases in England and France. It brings together the often disparate literatures on union identity, strategy and mobilisation and presents a new conceptual model to explicate these differences by linking a union’s identity to union strategy via two core framing processes: diagnostic framing and prognostic framing. Findings reveal that unions respond differently to healthcare privatisation initiatives, irrespective of the local and national context. Union identity influenced how they framed the threats and opportunities around them, shaping their expectations in terms of effective action. Union identity not only explains divergent responses but is also responsible for path dependencies which would make it potentially more difficult for unions to overcome structural constraints and learn from other groups.