Taylor, P. and Moore, S. (2014) Cabin crew collectivism: labour process and the roots of mobilization. Work, Employment & Society, 29 (1). pp. 79-98. ISSN 0950-0170 (Print), 1469-8722 (Online) (doi:10.1177/0950017014538336)

Preview

PDF (Author Accepted Manuscript) 14339_MOORE_Cabin_Crew_Collectivism_2014.pdf - Accepted Version Download (489kB)

Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	British Airways, cabin crew, civil aviation, emotional labour, labour process, mobilization, strikes
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2020 15:15
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/14339

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads