Book Review: Make Bosses Pay by Eve Livingston
Eve Livingston’s Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions sets out a compelling argument in favour of trade union membership and offers a bold and exciting vision of how the movement can adapt to meet the challenges of the modern day.
Image: Pluto Press
By Sam Doak
Why should workers join a union? What do people in insecure or short term work have to gain from union membership? How can the trade union movement adapt to a rapidly changing labour market?
These are some of the questions faced by the contemporary trade union movement. As non-traditional working arrangements have become increasingly common, unions now find themselves in an environment in which many workers operate outside of the employment models that they have developed alongside. Arguably, the movement’s future will be determined in large part by how well unions can reach these workers and their ability to adapt to meet their needs.
Make Bosses Pay, published by Pluto Press, addresses both of these points. Pointing to the historical and contemporary successes of the trade union movement, writer Eve Livingston makes a powerful case for union membership as a means capable of both empowering individual workers.
Livingston is keenly aware of the preconceptions many have about unions, that they are “for shouty old white men”, disempowered and based on “an old-fashioned model that doesn’t fit the way we work now”. Some of these views may not be completely unfounded, she argues, but in an environment that is becoming increasingly hostile to many - especially young - workers, collective action offers the opportunity to make meaningful change.
One of the great strengths of this book is the way in which it articulates the relationship between bosses as a class and the workers that they depend upon. Livingston points out that the desire to be paid a decent wage, work in decent conditions and enjoy adequate time outside of the workspace are fundamentally at odds with the objectives of employers who collectively perceive the human needs of workers as being detrimental to productivity and profit. Unions are presented in this context not only as a means through which to address individual instances of wrongdoing but as an opportunity to collectively counter the structures and environments designed to extract as much value from the worker as possible.
In making this point throughout the book, Livingston draws from the history of the trade union movement in the United Kingdom and presents numerous examples that demonstrate the effectiveness of union organising. The most compelling of these centre on cases in which the unions have shown their ability to address the needs of workers who fall outside of the traditional ‘white male breadwinner model’. The success of the equal pay campaign in Glasgow, the establishment of Living Rent and Better Than Zero’s impressive track record in tackling rogue employers all offer concrete, local examples of how - through innovation and determination - unions have the potential to address the needs of all workers.
Read an extract from Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions in English and Urdu
While the interests of boss and worker have long been at odds, Make Bosses Pay offers valuable analysis of how this dynamic expresses itself and is often obscured in the modern workplace. Features such as flexible working conditions, superficial perks and seemingly rigorous HR procedures, Livingston argues, exist within environments constructed by - and designed to serve - the interests of bosses. Not only are their benefits not comparable to what can be achieved through collective action, their presence can often serve to obscure the need for and value of union membership.
This is an important point to make in a modern context. Livingston is keenly aware that young workers enter a labour market in which many employers utilise perks and nominally progressive language in such a way so that one could be forgiven for thinking they are entering a community or ‘work family’ rather than a workplace designed to extract as much utility from the individual as is possible.
Make Bosses Pay is not only focussed on why workers should value unions, it also offers a compelling vision of a trade union movement capable of adapting to the challenges and opportunities of the modern labour market.
Drawing on interviews with union officials, campaigners, academics and workers, Livingston proposes a number of means by which unions have the potential to better represent all workers and organise more effectively on their behalf. The vision that Livingstone sets out is not an indictment of the movement in its current form, so much as an expression of optimism for its future. By making the case for an increasingly inclusive, wide reaching and liberatory movement empowered by modern technology and the determination of its members, this book emphasises the potential of unions as agents of change both within, and outwith, the workplace.
For any movement to survive and flourish over time, new members and ideas are essential. In making this case for union membership and detailing ways in which unions can adapt to better represent the interests of workers, Make Bosses Pay arguably contributes to the movement in both senses. While the struggle against exploitation in and out of the workplaces has always been hard fought, it would be difficult to read this book and not be left with a strong sense of optimism for the future of unions and the workers they represent.
Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions is available through Pluto Press.
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What union can I join?
When considering whether to join a union, it is first important to talk to your colleagues and inquire whether any union is already present in your workplace.
The list provided below is not exhaustive. If you require more information, you can find details on unions active in all sectors of the economy on the TUC website.
BFAWU - Food workers
BMA - Doctors and medical students
GMB - All workers
IWGB - Gig economy and outsourced workers
Living Rent - Tenants
National Union of Journalists - Journalism, media and communications
NEU - Educators and support staff
Unison - All public sector workers
Unite - All workers
Unite Community - The unemployed
USDAW - Retail and distribution workers