MA Labour and Trade Union Studies (University of North London)
PhD (Queen Mary, University of London)
From 1 October 2010 Jane joined Leeds University, and change her contact details to J.Holgate@leeds.ac.uk
Background/Career
After seven years of working in the university sector in publications and multi-media Jane completed a part-time MA in Labour and Trade Union Studies at the University of North London (now merged into London Metropolitan University). She then went on to complete her doctoral research which was funded by the ESRC and the Trades Union Congress on ‘Organising black and minority ethnic workers; trade union strategies for recruitment and inclusion’. Following this she was awarded an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at Queen Mary, University of London.
Research interests
Trade unions and the development of organising and recruitment strategies, particularly as they relate to under-represented groups in the union movement; gender and industrial relations; the labour market position of migrants and black and minority ethnic groups; new geographies of labour; the politics of intersectionality (‘race’, class, gender, etc).
Jane has recently (April 2010) been successful in her applicaton to the ERSC for a research project on ‘Broad-based community alliances: a comparative study of London and Sydney’. £97,446
This research is a comparative study of different union and community forms of civil engagement in Australia and the UK, with a particular focus on economic and social justice and the interests of vulnerable workers. It will compare union involvement in 3 broad based community coalitions, focusing on the Sydney Alliance, London Citizens and the UK’s TUC’s Active Unions, Active Communities (AUAC) initiative.
Jane was also awarded a 3-year ESRC grant in 2007 to work on a project entitled: Influences of identity, community and social networks on ethnic minority representation at work.
Working with Janroj Keles from WLRI and Professor Anna Pollert at University of West of England, the research will theorise the lack of connection between different social actors (ethnic minority workers and trade unions) by considering whether the notion of intersectionality allows for a deeper understanding of how material structures and cultural meanings are interwoven and worked out in practice. The research will attempt to understand the linkages between, and relative significance of, different forms of social divisions as mediated by ethnicity, class, faith, secularism, gender, age, migration, etc. It will also explore whether barriers to engagement exist for some groups of ethnic minority workers in joining or taking part in trade unions and the reason why some workers choose alternative means of accessing support at work.
Jane has also had a Nuffield grant for £11,000 titled ‘Evaluating recent developments in training trade union organisers’ (with Dr Melanie Simms).
Nearly 10 years ago the Trades Union Congress (TUC) launched an innovative training programme in an effort to broaden the focus of UK trade unionism and to represent a wider group of workers. The Organising Academy has since trained over 200 organisers whose job it is to recruit new workers, to develop relationships between unions and employers which have not traditionally had formal union representation in their workplaces, and to try to broaden the appeal of unions to workers who have not traditionally been represented.
Our research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, has traced almost all of the organisers who have graduated from the Organising Academy and is evaluating what they have been doing since their training. Surprisingly, around 90% are still actively involved in the trade union movement; with many of the rest involved in other political organisations, and one is even a Member of Parliament. The vast majority use their training in their day-to-day roles and evaluated their experiences as being generally positive. More widely, they talk about companies and workplaces where workers now have collective representation rights - small steps, but valuable ones.
Publications
International refereed journals
Simms, M. and Holgate, J. (2010) ‘TUC Organising Academy 10 years on: what has been the impact?’ International Journal of Human Resource Management. 21: 3, 355–370
Simms, M. and Holgate, J. (2010) Organising for what? An empirical critique of UK union organising approaches. Work Employment and Society. 24:1.
Holgate, J. Pollert, A and Keles, J (2009) Union decline, minority ethnic workers and employment advice in local communities. Industrial Law Journal 38:3. 412-416.
Holgate, J and McKay, S (2009) Equal opportunities policies: how effective are they in increasing diversity in the audio-visual industries’ freelance labour market? Media, Culture and Society 31: 1. 151-163.
Holgate, J. A. McBride and G. Hebson. (2006) ‘Why gender and difference matters: a critical appraisal of industrial relations research.’ Industrial Relations Journal. Vol.37 (4).
Holgate, J. (2005) ‘Organising migrant workers: a case study of working conditions and unionisation at a sandwich factory in London.’ in Work Employment and Society. Vol.19 (3). 463–480.
Holgate (2009) ‘Contested terrain: London’s living wage campaign and the tension between community and union organising.’ in McBride J. and Greenwood, I. The Complexity of Community Unionism: a Comparative Analysis of Concepts and Contexts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Stewart, P. McBride, J. Greenwood I. Stirling J. Holgate, J. Tattersall, A. Stephenson, C. Wray, D. (2009) ‘Understanding community Unionism.’ in McBride J. and Greenwood, I. The Complexity of Community Unionism: a Comparative Analysis of Concepts and Contexts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Holgate, J. and Wills, J. (2007) ‘Organising labour in London’. Turner, L. and Cornfield, D. (eds.) in Seeking Solidarity Labor in the New Urban Battlegrounds. Cornell: Cornell University Press.
Holgate, J. (2007) ‘Producing: changing patters of work’ in I. Douglas, R. Huggett and C. Perkins (eds) Companion Encyclopaedia of Geography. London: Routledge.
Holgate, J. (2005) ‘Trade union recognition in Asian workplaces: a springboard to further union organising/recognition campaigns’ in Gall, G. Union Recognition: Organising and Bargaining Outcomes. London: Routledge.
Book reviews
Holgate, J, (2009) Book review. ‘New Geographies of Race and Racism’ edited by Claire Dwyer and Caroline Bassey. The Geography Journal.
Holgate, J, (2008) Book review. ‘The Dirty World of Neoliberalism. Cleaners in the Global Economy.’ by Luis Aguiar and Andrew Herod. London: Blackwell. Work and Occupations.
Holgate, J. (2006) Book review: ‘Working Feminism’ by Geraldine Pratt. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, in Geografiska Annaler 88:2.
Holgate. J. (2005) Book review: ‘Unmaking Goliath. Community Control in the Face of Global Capital’ by James DeFilippis New York: Routledge. Urban Studies. 42: 4.
Holgate, J. (2005). Book review: ‘The Future of Worker Representation’ by Geraldine Healy, Edmund Heery, Philip Taylor and William Brown (eds). London: Palgrave, in Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 58:4.
Holgate, J. (2004) Book review: ‘Towards a Politics of the Rainbow: Self-organization in the trade union movement.’ By Humphrey, J.C. Aldershot: Ashgate. Social Movement Studies. Vol.3. No.1 2004.
Holgate, J. (2004) Book review ‘The Future of the American Labor Movement. Cambridge University Press. by Wheeler, Hoyt N. (2002) in British Universities Industrial Relations Newsletter 2004.
Other publications
Holgate, J (2009) Unionising the low paid in London: the Justice for Cleaners campaign. Labor Unions and Civic Integration of Immigrant Workers research project.
Holgate, J (2009) The role of UK unions in the civic integration of immigrant workers. Literature review for the Labor Unions and Civic Integration of Immigrant Workers research project.
Holgate, J. and Simms, M. (2008) Ten years on: the impact of the Organising Academy on the UK union movement. London: Trades Union Congress
Holgate, J. Moore, S, Davis, M. (2007) Union learning in the CWU: An examination of the educational needs and learning aspirations of CWU members and proposals for future provision. London: Working Lives Research Institute.
Hamilton, P and Holgate, J. (2007) Researching companies. A trade union manual to aid organising and collective bargaining. London: Trades Union Congress.
Holgate, J and Mckay, S. (2007) Institutional barriers to recruitment and employment in the audio visual industries. The effect on black and minority ethnic workers. London: Working Lives Research Institute.
Holgate, J. (2006) Making the transition from college to work: experiences of media, film and television students, and recent graduates in London’s audio-visual industries. London: Working Lives Research Institute.
Holgate, J. (2004) Black and minority ethnic workers and trade unions. Strategies for organisation, recruitment and inclusion. London: Trades Union Congress. 2004.
Holgate, J. (2003) ‘Organising black and minority ethnic workers in trade unions: a case study of retail workers in central London.’ in Regulation, Deregulation and Re-Regulation: the scope of employment relations in the 21st Century. Proceedings of the 11th Annual Conference of the International Employment Relations Association, University of Greenwich.
Holgate, J. (2003) ‘On the sandwich chain gang.’ Red Pepper. September. pp.22–23.
Wills, J, Gaskell, C. Holgate, J, Jamoul, L (2002) Report on the state of civil society in Plaistow and Canning Town East London. Produced for the East London Communities Organisation.
Holgate, J (2009) Adapt or decline: a trade union future for black workers? Paper presented at Critical Labour Studies Symposium. School of African and Oriental Studies. 21-22 November 2009.
Holgate, J, Pollert, P, Keles, J. (2009) Union decline and the lack of employment advice for minority ethnic workers in the UK: can community support organisations help to fill the gap? Paper presented at the International Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference, Sydney, 24-27 August 2009.
McBride, A. Hebson, G. and Holgate, J. (2009) Whose interests? Voice and representation in trade unions: the use of intersectional analysis. Paper presented at the International Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference, Sydney, 24-27 August 2009.
Organising Lives: the personal challenges of promoting trade union renewal. Paper presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, Cardiff 2-4 July 2009.
London’s living wage campaign: an issue of territory and a struggle over place. Paper presented at Developing Theoretical Approaches in Labour Geography conference, University of Liverpool 11-12th June 2009
Invited speaker at Transatlantic Dialogue conference Cornell University, Ithaca, May 7–9 2009.
Keles, J. Holgate, J, Pollert, P. (2009) To whom do I turn when I am invisible? The experiences of Kurdish workers who have problems at work. Paper presented at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Cardiff, 15-17 April 2009.
Holgate, J, Pollert, P, Keles, J. (2009) The influence of identity, ‘community’ and social networks on how workers access support for work-based problems. Paper presented at the International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh, 6-8 April 2009
Is there an organising model? An empirical critique. Paper presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, Bristol, June 2008.
The TUC Organising Academy: what has been the impact? (second version of paper). Paper presented to International Labour Process Conference, Dublin March 2008.
TUC Organising Academy 10 years on: what has been the impact? Paper presented Work Employment and Society Conference, Aberdeen, September 2007.
Equal opportunities policies: how effective are they in increasing diversity in a freelance labour market? Paper presented International Industrial Relations Association conference, Manchester, September 2007.
Moral dilemmas in organising migrant workers: a strategy for growth or a sign of weak bargaining position?. Paper presented to ‘Transatlantic Dialogue conference’ organised by Cornell University in Brussels, March 2–3 2007. (Invited speaker).
Contextualising community unionism. Paper presented at Contextualising Community Unionism workshop
21 and 22 September 2006, School of Management, University of Bradford.
‘I don’t regret my degree but…’: employment opportunities for new entrants into the audio-visual industries – the influence of ‘race’, class and gender. Presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association 56th Annual Conference. University of Galway, Ireland 28–30 June 2006.
Organising migrant workers in London: working with communities. Paper presented to ‘Transatlantic Dialogue conference’ at Cornell University, May 4–6 2006. (Invited speaker).
Trade union responses to organising migrant workers: the relevance of identity, ‘community’ and social networks. Paper presented to 24th International Labour Process Conference, Birkbeck University 10–12 April 2006.
Do global unions make sense? Paper presented to ‘Global companies, global unions, global research, global campaigns conference’ organised by Cornell University, New York, February 9–11, 2006.
The influence of ‘race’, identity and community on the organisation of migrant workers. Paper presented to Critical Labour Studies conference, Leeds University. December 14-15 2005.
Invited to present plenary session at the 55th British Universities Industrial Relations Annual Conference. University of Northumbria, July 2005, on ‘Why “difference” matters: a critical appraisal of industrial relations research’.
Placing Labour in London: trade union strategy and practice. Paper presented to ‘Strategies for urban labour revitalization conference’ at Cornell University, October 1–3 2004. (Invited speaker).
Organising migrant workers: a case study of working conditions and unionisation at a sandwich factory in London. Paper presented to the Work Employment and Society Conference, University of Manchester 1–3 September 2004.
The influence of ‘race’, identity and community in union organising in west London. 54th British Universities Industrial Relations Annual Conference, University of Nottingham, 1–3 July 2004.
Organising black and minority ethnic workers in trade unions: a case study of retail workers in central London. International Employment Relations Association 11th Annual Conference, University of Greenwich, London, 8–11 July 2003.
Trade unions: a place to unify struggles for economic and social justice?’ Paper presented to the Association of American Geographers 99th Annual Conference, 4–8 March 2003.
South Asian women trade unionists: learning from the past to organise the future. At South Asian women workers in the Grunwick and Gate Gourmet disputes: similarities, differences and lessons. The women’s Library November 28 2009
TUC Organising Academy 10 Years on: organising as a specialist or generalist function? Leading Organising Round Table, Trades Union Congress 2 June 2009.
Organising Academy: successes and challenges presented at the Building Stronger Unions: organising the future conference. Trades Union Congress 14 October 2008.
London’s Living Wage Campaign: a missed opportunity for unionising black and minority ethnic workers? Invited speaker at ESRC seminar series 'Trade Unions and BME groups: dimension of employment and network relations' Manchester Business School – April 17th 2008
Research methodology and practice: issues of power, politics and ethnics when listening to marginalised voices. Seminar at Ruskin College, 9 November 2007.
Equal opportunities policies: how effective are they in increasing diversity in a freelance labour market? Seminar at Leeds University Business School, 24 October 2007.
‘I don’t regret my degree but…’: employment opportunities for new entrants into the audio-visual industries – the influence of ‘race’, class and gender. Presented to the University of Hertfordshire Business School research seminar 21 February 2007.
‘Good practice in organising migrant workers.’ Presentation to Wales TUC Organising Conference. Cardiff 6 February 2007.
‘Black and minority ethnic workers in low-paid employment: the effects of poverty on living standards’ Presentation to Oxfam, Oxford 4 October 2006.
Issues facing migrant workers: what effect on union organising.’ Presentation to TGWU Candidate Development Programme, Eastbourne, 16 September 2006.
Seminar held at the TUC: Making the transition from college to work: experiences of media, film and television students, and recent graduates in London’s audio-visual industries.’ 26 April 2006.
Invited speaker at Northern TUC Race Relations Committee, September 2005.
Invited speaker at Unison equalities conference in Newcastle, September 2005.
Invited speaker at TUC Seminar in London on ‘Organising and recruiting black workers’, September 2005.
Invited speaker at TGWU training day for full-time union officers, on ‘Migrant workers and union organising’, Eastbourne, 29 April 2005.
Invited speaker to the Northern Region TUC Annual Meeting on ‘Issues of racism and organising black and minority ethnic workers’, 16 April 2005.
Invited speaker at departmental seminar, Department of Sociology, University of Northumbria on ‘The influence of ‘race’, identity and community in union organising in west London’, 15 April 2005.
Invited speaker to address the TGWU Race Relations Committee on 14 March 2005.
TUC Organising Academy, ‘BME workers in trade unions and the labour market’, June 2004.
Trades Union Congress ‘Black and minority ethnic workers and trade unions’, TUC 19 May 2004.
TGWU Race Equality Committee, ‘Black workers and trade unions in London and the South East: focus on effectiveness of organising and recruitment strategies’, June 2003.
Presentation to the Trades Union Congress on ‘Black workers and trade unions in London and the South East: focus on effectiveness of organising and recruitment strategies’, Research report, March 2003.
Seminar at Ruskin College on ‘Ethnic minority women in trade unions’, May 2002.
British Trade Unionism Today Seminar. International Centre for Labour Studies, University of Manchester. ‘Organising Black Workers: Trade Union Strategies for Recruitment and Inclusion’, December 2002.
Conferences organised
Critical Labour Studies – 6th Symposium. SOAS, 21-22nd November 2008 (with Miguel Martinez Lucio and Demet Dimler).
Organise 2008! A one-day conference attended by 150 people at London Metropolitan University 8 November 2008.
Building stronger unions – organising in the context of global capital 17 May 2007: London Metropolitan University. A one-day conference of 120 people.
Black and minority ethnic workers in London’s audio-visual industries, 23 November 2006: Greater London Authority, London. One-day conference of 120 chaired by Director of Equalities GLA.
Holgate, J, Pollert, P, Keles, J. (2009) Union decline and the lack of employment advice for minority ethnic workers in the UK: can community support organisations help to fill the gap? Paper to be presented at the International Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference, Sydney, 24-27 August 2009.
McBride, A. Hebson, G. and Holgate, J. (2009) Whose interests? Voice and representation in trade unions: the use of intersectional analysis. Paper to be presented at the International Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference, Sydney, 24-27 August 2009.
Organising Lives: the personal challenges of promoting trade union renewal. Paper presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, Cardiff 2-4 July 2009.
London’s living wage campaign: an issue of territory and a struggle over place. Paper presented at Developing Theoretical Approaches in Labour Geography conference, University of Liverpool 11-12th June 2009
Invited speaker at Transatlantic Dialogue conference Cornell University, Ithaca, May 7–9 2009.
Keles, J. Holgate, J, Pollert, P. (2009) To whom do I turn when I am invisible? The experiences of Kurdish workers who have problems at work. Paper presented at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Cardiff, 15-17 April 2009.
Holgate, J, Pollert, P, Keles, J. (2009) The influence of identity, ‘community’ and social networks on how workers access support for work-based problems. Paper presented at the International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh, 6-8 April 2009
Is there an organising model? An empirical critique. Paper presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, Bristol, June 2008.
The TUC Organising Academy: what has been the impact? (second version of paper). Paper presented to International Labour Process Conference, Dublin March 2008.
TUC Organising Academy 10 years on: what has been the impact?Paper presented Work Employment and Society Conference, Aberdeen, September 2007.
Equal opportunities policies: how effective are they in increasing diversity in a freelance labour market? Paper presented International Industrial Relations Association conference, Manchester, September 2007.
Moral dilemmas in organising migrant workers: a strategy for growth or a sign of weak bargaining position?. Paper presented to ‘Transatlantic Dialogue conference’ organised by Cornell University in Brussels, March 2–3 2007. (Invited speaker).
Contextualising community unionism. Paper presented at Contextualising Community Unionism workshop
21 and 22September 2006, School of Management, University of Bradford.
‘I don’t regret my degree but…’: employment opportunities for new entrants into the audio-visual industries – the influence of ‘race’, class and gender. Presented to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association 56th Annual Conference. University of Galway, Ireland 28–30 June 2006.
Organising migrant workers in London: working with communities. Paper presented to ‘Transatlantic Dialogue conference’ at Cornell University, May 4–6 2006. (Invited speaker).
Trade union responses to organising migrant workers: the relevance of identity, ‘community’ and social networks. Paper presented to 24th International Labour Process Conference, Birkbeck University 10–12 April 2006.
Do global unions make sense? Paper presented to ‘Global companies, global unions, global research, global campaigns conference’ organised by Cornell University, New York, February 9–11, 2006.
The influence of ‘race’, identity and community on the organisation of migrant workers. Paper presented to Critical Labour Studies conference, Leeds University. December 14-15 2005.
Invited to present plenary session at the 55th British Universities Industrial Relations Annual Conference. University of Northumbria, July 2005, on ‘Why “difference” matters: a critical appraisal of industrial relations research’.
Placing Labour in London: trade union strategy and practice. Paper presented to ‘Strategies for urban labour revitalization conference’ at Cornell University, October 1–3 2004. (Invited speaker).
Organising migrant workers: a case study of working conditions and unionisation at a sandwich factory in London. Paper presented to the Work Employment and Society Conference, University of Manchester 1–3 September 2004.
The influence of ‘race’, identity and community in union organising in west London. 54th British Universities Industrial Relations Annual Conference, University of Nottingham, 1–3 July 2004.
Organising black and minority ethnic workers in trade unions: a case study of retail workers in central London. International Employment Relations Association 11th Annual Conference, University of Greenwich, London, 8–11 July 2003.
