When push comes to shove: dynamics of unionising in the Israeli high-tech sector

Call for Papers: Hierarchies of domesticity – spatial and social boundaries. Deadline for submissions is 30^th September, 2024. Full details can be read here.

Articles to be no longer than 6,000 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography) and submitted in two forms: an anonymised version in which all references to the authors’ institution and publications are omitted; and a full version including the authors’ titles and institutional affiliations. For complete instructions on style, formatting, etc., please consult: https://www.plutojournals.com/wp-content/uploads/WOLG-Instructions-for-Authors2023.pdf

scite_

Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation

Volume 13, Issue 2

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

When push comes to shove: dynamics of unionising in the Israeli high-tech sector

research-article

Author(s): Ben Fisher , Eran Fisher

Publication date (Print): 1 January 2019

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: digital labour, ICT, high-tech sector, unionising, organised labour

Bookmark

Abstract

This article examines the unprecedented unionising trend among Israeli hightech workers since 2014, based on a field study conducted during 2017-2018. It outlines the concrete constellations that made unionising possible, and the inner dynamics of unionising efforts. It identifies the roots of the trend, maps the different parties involved and analyses the interests, methods and practices that made unionising in this sector possible and even successful.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50010512

Journal ID (jcode): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 1745-641X

ISSN: 1745-6428

Publication date (Print): 1 January 2019

Volume: 13

Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.issue-2 )

Pages: 37-56

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.13.2.0037

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.2.0037

SO-VID: 467977ad-85ad-4d47-a95d-47ef571ccc4b

License:

All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Custom metadata

lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

Keywords: high-tech sector,organised labour,digital labour,unionising,ICT

REFERENCES

Becker, G.S. (1994) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bell, D. (1976) ‘The coming of the post-industrial society’, The Educational Forum, 40 (4): 574-579.
Berrebi-Hoffmann, I., D. Grimshaw, M. Lallement & M. Miozzo (2010) ‘Employment challenges to the knowledge economy in Europe: the case of IT services’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 4 (1):84-103.
Braun, V. & V. Clarke (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2):77-101.
Bsoul, J. (2017) ‘Israeli workers uniting in masses? The numbers tell a different story’, Haaretz, 22 May. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/israeli-workers-uniting-in-masses-the-numbers-tell-a-different-story-1.5451450.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2017) ‘Union Members – 2017‘, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February, 2, 2018 from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf.
Calcalist (2013) ‘Labor market shrinkage: dismissals, cuts and freezing new requirements’, Calcalist, 28 October. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3615407,00.html.
Castells, M. (1996-8) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, 3 volumes. Oxford: Blackwell.
Castells, M. (1997). Power of Identity: The information age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Blackwell Publishers.
Castells, M. (2011) The Rise of the Network Society (Vol. 12). John Wiley & Sons.
Economist, The (2015) ‘Planet of the phones’, The Economist, 26 February. Accessed February, 3, 2018 from https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21645180-smartphone-ubiquitous-addictive-and-transformative-planet-phones.
Fisher, E. (2008) ‘The classless workplace: the Digerati and the new spirit of Technocapitalism’, WorkingUSA, 1 (2):181-198.
Frechtling, J. A. & L. M. Sharp (eds.) (1997) User-friendly handbook for mixed method evaluations. Chicago: Diane Publishing.
Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hinkes-Jones, L. (2011) ‘Why ICT workers should unionize’, The Atlantic. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/why-it-workers-should-unionize/240810/.
Hoffmann, T. (2014) ‘Hi-Tech in Israel: 269,000 workers, 5,900 companies’, Globes, 29 July. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000958789.
Hossfeld, K.J. (1995) ‘Why aren't high-tech workers organized?‘, in D. Conford (ed.), Working People of California. Berkeley: University of California Press: 405-433.
Huws, U. (2003) The Making of a Cybertariat: Collected essays. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Huws, U. (2016) ‘Logged labour: a new paradigm of work organisation?‘, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 10 (1):7-26.
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) (2017) ‘Labour force survey data, December, 4th quarter and annual data of 2017‘, 31 January. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201820029.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IMFA) (2009) ‘ECONOMY: sectors of the Israeli Economy, Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs’. Accessed on February, 12, 2018 from http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Economy/Pages/ECONOMY-%20Sectors%20of%20the%20Economy.aspx.
Kelly, J. (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilization, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge.
Manela, M. (2017) ‘Hi-tech – a 7% increase in wages – 26,664 NIS per month’, Calcalist, 18 December. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3727591,00.html.
Mayer-Ahuja, N. & P. Feuerstein (2008) ‘“Everywhere is becoming the same?” Labour utilisation, regulation and the tensions inherent in transnational IT production’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 2 (2):162-178.
Milton, L. P. (2003) ‘An identity perspective on the propensity of high-tech talent to unionize’, Journal of Labor Research, 24 (1): 31-53.
Mosco, V. (2005) ‘Here today, outsourced tomorrow: knowledge workers in the global economy,‘ Javnost – The Public, 12 (2):39-55.
O'Neil, M. & O. Frayssé (eds.) (2016) Digital Labour and Prosumer Capitalism: The US Matrix. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pitts, F. (2013) ‘“A science to it”: flexible time and flexible subjectivity in the digital workplace’, Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 7 (1):95-105.
Rabat, H. (2017) ‘Intel Israel CEO: we will recruit 1,500 more employees’, Calcalist, 20 July. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3717615,00.html.
Rabosto, A. & M. Zukerfeld (2017) ‘Precarity, precariousness and software workers: wages, unions and subjectivity in the Argentinian software and information services sector’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 11 (1):87-102.
Robinson, J.G. & J.S. McIlwee (1989) ‘Obstacles to unionization in high-tech industries’, Work and Occupations, 16 (2):115-136.
Rothstein, S.A. (2018) ‘Unlikely activists: building worker power under liberalization’, Socio-Economic Review. Accessed from https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwx062.
Senor, D. & S. Singer (2009) Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle. New York: McClelland & Stewart.
Standing, G. (2011) The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
UNI Global Union (2017) Europa ICT Organizing Network Meeting Notes. Bucharest, Romania. 24-25 October 2017.
United States General Accounting Office (2000) ‘Contingent Workers: Incomes and Benefits Lag Behind Those of Rest of Workforce’, report to Edward M. Kennedy and Robert G. Torricelli, U.S. Senate. Accessed February, 3, 2018 from https://www.gao.gov/assets/240/230443.pdf.
Vazana, Y. (2017) Unionized. Shchakim Publishing.
Webster, F. (2014) Theories of the Information Society. London: Routledge.
Wren, A., M. Fodor & S. Theodoropoulou (2013) ‘The trilemma revisited: Institutions, inequality, and employment creation in an era of ICT-intensive service expansion’, in A. Wren (ed.), The Political Economy of the Service Transition. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1st edition): 108-146.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Becker, G.S. (1994) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[2] Bell, D. (1976) ‘The coming of the post-industrial society’, The Educational Forum, 40 (4): 574-579.

[3] Berrebi-Hoffmann, I., D. Grimshaw, M. Lallement & M. Miozzo (2010) ‘Employment challenges to the knowledge economy in Europe: the case of IT services’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 4 (1):84-103.

[4] Braun, V. & V. Clarke (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2):77-101.

[5] Bsoul, J. (2017) ‘Israeli workers uniting in masses? The numbers tell a different story’, Haaretz, 22 May. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/israeli-workers-uniting-in-masses-the-numbers-tell-a-different-story-1.5451450.

[6] Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2017) ‘Union Members – 2017‘, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February, 2, 2018 from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf.

[7] Calcalist (2013) ‘Labor market shrinkage: dismissals, cuts and freezing new requirements’, Calcalist, 28 October. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3615407,00.html.

[8] Castells, M. (1996-8) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, 3 volumes. Oxford: Blackwell.

[9] Castells, M. (1997). Power of Identity: The information age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Blackwell Publishers.

[10] Castells, M. (2011) The Rise of the Network Society (Vol. 12). John Wiley & Sons.

[11] Economist, The (2015) ‘Planet of the phones’, The Economist, 26 February. Accessed February, 3, 2018 from https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21645180-smartphone-ubiquitous-addictive-and-transformative-planet-phones.

[12] Fisher, E. (2008) ‘The classless workplace: the Digerati and the new spirit of Technocapitalism’, WorkingUSA, 1 (2):181-198.

[13] Frechtling, J. A. & L. M. Sharp (eds.) (1997) User-friendly handbook for mixed method evaluations. Chicago: Diane Publishing.

[14] Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[15] Hinkes-Jones, L. (2011) ‘Why ICT workers should unionize’, The Atlantic. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/why-it-workers-should-unionize/240810/.

[16] Hoffmann, T. (2014) ‘Hi-Tech in Israel: 269,000 workers, 5,900 companies’, Globes, 29 July. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000958789.

[17] Hossfeld, K.J. (1995) ‘Why aren't high-tech workers organized?‘, in D. Conford (ed.), Working People of California. Berkeley: University of California Press: 405-433.

[18] Huws, U. (2003) The Making of a Cybertariat: Collected essays. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[19] Huws, U. (2016) ‘Logged labour: a new paradigm of work organisation?‘, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 10 (1):7-26.

[20] Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) (2017) ‘Labour force survey data, December, 4th quarter and annual data of 2017‘, 31 January. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201820029.

[21] Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IMFA) (2009) ‘ECONOMY: sectors of the Israeli Economy, Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs’. Accessed on February, 12, 2018 from http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Economy/Pages/ECONOMY-%20Sectors%20of%20the%20Economy.aspx.

[22] Kelly, J. (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilization, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge.

[23] Manela, M. (2017) ‘Hi-tech – a 7% increase in wages – 26,664 NIS per month’, Calcalist, 18 December. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3727591,00.html.

[24] Mayer-Ahuja, N. & P. Feuerstein (2008) ‘“Everywhere is becoming the same?” Labour utilisation, regulation and the tensions inherent in transnational IT production’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 2 (2):162-178.

[25] Milton, L. P. (2003) ‘An identity perspective on the propensity of high-tech talent to unionize’, Journal of Labor Research, 24 (1): 31-53.

[26] Mosco, V. (2005) ‘Here today, outsourced tomorrow: knowledge workers in the global economy,‘ Javnost – The Public, 12 (2):39-55.

[27] O'Neil, M. & O. Frayssé (eds.) (2016) Digital Labour and Prosumer Capitalism: The US Matrix. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

[28] Pitts, F. (2013) ‘“A science to it”: flexible time and flexible subjectivity in the digital workplace’, Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 7 (1):95-105.

[29] Rabat, H. (2017) ‘Intel Israel CEO: we will recruit 1,500 more employees’, Calcalist, 20 July. Accessed February, 12, 2018 from https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3717615,00.html.

[30] Rabosto, A. & M. Zukerfeld (2017) ‘Precarity, precariousness and software workers: wages, unions and subjectivity in the Argentinian software and information services sector’, Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 11 (1):87-102.

[31] Robinson, J.G. & J.S. McIlwee (1989) ‘Obstacles to unionization in high-tech industries’, Work and Occupations, 16 (2):115-136.

[32] Rothstein, S.A. (2018) ‘Unlikely activists: building worker power under liberalization’, Socio-Economic Review. Accessed from https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwx062.

[33] Senor, D. & S. Singer (2009) Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle. New York: McClelland & Stewart.

[34] Standing, G. (2011) The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

[35] UNI Global Union (2017) Europa ICT Organizing Network Meeting Notes. Bucharest, Romania. 24-25 October 2017.

[36] United States General Accounting Office (2000) ‘Contingent Workers: Incomes and Benefits Lag Behind Those of Rest of Workforce’, report to Edward M. Kennedy and Robert G. Torricelli, U.S. Senate. Accessed February, 3, 2018 from https://www.gao.gov/assets/240/230443.pdf.

[37] Vazana, Y. (2017) Unionized. Shchakim Publishing.

[38] Webster, F. (2014) Theories of the Information Society. London: Routledge.

[39] Wren, A., M. Fodor & S. Theodoropoulou (2013) ‘The trilemma revisited: Institutions, inequality, and employment creation in an era of ICT-intensive service expansion’, in A. Wren (ed.), The Political Economy of the Service Transition. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1st edition): 108-146.