The Union is a Means, but also a Goal in Itself: A study of how Dutch unions justify the use of different strategies to achieve organisational and policy goals

This thesis explores how unions in the Netherlands justify their chosen strategies to achieve their goals. Organisational pressure and their institutional role as labour representation has created a situation in the Netherlands where unions have the need to pursue organisational goals next to policy goals. Through interviews with board members of the two largest Dutch trade unions, supplemented with data from newspaper interviews, this thesis analyses the strategic choices made by them. It shows that the larger union (FNV) follows the proposed expectations by pushing for organisational growth to maintain union influence and uses outsider strategies, in the form of campaigns, to appeal to potential members. CNV takes a different approach, focussing on providing services to their members to persuade people to join. This focus on collective or individual advocacy could be a trend, however more research is needed to confirm this. This study also found that both unions still heavily rely...Show moreThis thesis explores how unions in the Netherlands justify their chosen strategies to achieve their goals. Organisational pressure and their institutional role as labour representation has created a situation in the Netherlands where unions have the need to pursue organisational goals next to policy goals. Through interviews with board members of the two largest Dutch trade unions, supplemented with data from newspaper interviews, this thesis analyses the strategic choices made by them. It shows that the larger union (FNV) follows the proposed expectations by pushing for organisational growth to maintain union influence and uses outsider strategies, in the form of campaigns, to appeal to potential members. CNV takes a different approach, focussing on providing services to their members to persuade people to join. This focus on collective or individual advocacy could be a trend, however more research is needed to confirm this. This study also found that both unions still heavily rely on insider strategies in pursuit of their policy goals. However, unions have less trust in the institutions through which this dialogue is facilitated. This can be accounted for through overuse of the advisory body and lack of implementation of the advisory opinions by the government.Show less

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The Union is a Means, but also a Goal in Itself: A study of how Dutch unions justify the use of different strategies to achieve organisational and policy goals