‘Justice for Janitors’ goes Dutch: the limits and possibilities of unions’ adoption of organizing in a context of regulated social partnership

Organising has been adopted as a strategy for union renewal in the Netherlands, where the dominant repertoire has been consensus-based social dialogue. Certain Dutch unions have developed strategies inspired by the US ‘organising model’ and have been relatively successful in recruiting and mobilising under-represented workers. Despite some tensions emerging, the introduction of organising resulted in the greater representation of workers in sectors such as cleaning, which has to an extent complemented social dialogue-based strategies. At the same time, the narrative and tactics of organising have stimulated internal debate on union purpose and identity and indirectly contributed to a process of reform and democratisation within parts of the union movement. The research demonstrates the pragmatic features of organising as a strategy for union renewal in a context of regulated social partnership, but also points towards the potential for organising to encourage shifts in the dominant sources of union legitimacy and power.