Phil Taylor
Cabin crew collectivism: Labour process and the roots of mobilization
Taylor, Phil; Moore, Sian
Authors
Sian Moore
Abstract
© The Author(s) 2014. The protracted dispute (2009–11) between British Airways and BASSA (British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association) was notable for the strength of collective action by cabin crew. In-depth interviews reveal collectivism rooted in the labour process and highlight the key agency of BASSA in effectively articulating worker interests. This data emphasizes crews’ relative autonomy, sustained by unionate on-board Cabin Service Directors who have defended the frontier of control against managerial incursions. Periodic attempts to re-configure the labour process, driven by cost cutting imperatives in an increasingly competitive airline industry, eroded crews’ organizational loyalties. When BA imposed radical changes to contracts and working arrangements, BASSA successfully mobilized its membership. The article contributes to labour process analysis by emphasizing the collective dimensions to emotional labour, restoring the ‘missing subject’, but also articulating the interconnections between labour process and mobilization and the role unions can play in providing the organizational and ideological resources to legitimate worker interest.
Citation
Taylor, P., & Moore, S. (2015). Cabin crew collectivism: Labour process and the roots of mobilization. Work, Employment and Society, 29(1), 79-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017014538336
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | Feb 1, 2015 |
| Journal | Work, Employment & Society |
| Print ISSN | 0950-0170 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 79-98 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017014538336 |
| Keywords | British Airways, strike, labour process, mobilisation, emotional labour, trade unions, gender, collectivism, management, industrial management, organizational behavior and human resource management |
| Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/839164 |
| Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017014538336 |