Unions as social capital: the impact of trade union youth programmes on young workers' political and community engagement

Abstract

Jarley (2005) recently proposed a model of social capital unionism that contends that unions should strive to recreate the dense communities of the past by systematically creating social networks among workers. Underlying this approach is the notion that sustained personal contacts with members are necessary to generate the generalised reciprocity norms that mobilise workers in times of need and sustain unions in periods of relative calm. This paper describes one union's attempt at social capital building among their young members. We also report on survey results that suggest that building social capital is challenging but potentially rewarding as dense social networks are correlated with union knowledge which in turn is correlated with increased union participation as well as community and political engagement.