Unions as digital trailblazers: Digitalizing and revitalizing union voting practices

Presenting the paper ‘Unions as digital trailblazers: Digitalizing and revitalizing union voting practices’ co-authored with Mark Friis Hau

At the workshop: Emerging trends in Union Voting Practices. 20th ILERA World Congress 2024, Hilton Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States | June 27-30, 2024

Abstract: Unions are increasingly embracing digital tools for mobilization, campaigning, and communication with their members. However, current research continues to depict unions as dinosaurs in the realm of social media and the digital landscape. In this article, we demonstrate how unions can blaze new trails by digitizing their voting practices. Drawing on qualitative interviews with union officials and digital consultants and voting data spanning a 20-year period in five Danish unions, the article offers new understanding of the implications of digitalization for union revitalization. Our findings show that the digitalization of voting strengthen both internal and external union democracy and furthers voting participation among especially women and young workers. We further argue that this bolsters legitimacy of union representation and increases union bargaining power towards employers. We also discuss possible challenges to this development such as limited voice, weak participation, digital literacy among union members, and the social elements of voting in the workplace.