In most European countries trade union membership is declining. A contributory factor
to this decline has been the failure of trade unions to recruit new members in
marketized services at the same rate as members were being lost from areas of
traditionally high unionization. This article examines the approaches adopted by
trade unions to raise unionization rates in marketized services and identifies some
elements of organizational change that might improve the current situation. Central
to these reforms is the re-establishment of articulated trade union structures and
activity, requiring greater organizational concentration and scope, on one hand, and
decentralization of resources and activity on the other. Pivotal is also to develop
agendas that accommodate heterogeneity and the needs of individual members and
particular groups, at the same time highlighting the interdependence between
individual self-realization and collective regulation.
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