Strikes and Solidarity: Coalfield Conflict in Britain, 1889-1966

Description

In this book, Roy Church and Quentin Outram investigate the history of strike activity in the British coal mining industry, a byword for industrial militancy since the late nineteenth century. Strikes and Solidarity takes a multidisciplinary approach that blends quantitative and qualitative research methods to form a new explanation for the pattern of strike activity in the industry. It will be of interest to economic and social historians, sociologists and industrial relations specialists. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents list of figures and tables Preface list of abbreviations 1 Interpreting coalfield conflict: focus and formulations Mining strikes and 'militant miners': contemporary perceptions and empirical expositions Theoretical orientations to mining strikes Methods, sources and schema 2 Tradition and modernity: the mining industry 1889-1940 Structures of colliery scale and ownership Structures and strategies of labour management 3 Employers and workers: organizations and strategies Frameworks and processes before 1914 Trade unions, coalowners' associations and industrial relations 1914-40 'United we stand': the traditional battlegrounds of Celtic Britain 4 Employers and workers: ideologies, attitudes and political orientations Pressure groups and politics Miners' leaders and miners' militancy 5 Configurations of strike activity From Nine Mile Point to Bothwell Castle: dimensions, concentration and prevalence of coalmining strikes 'Back up pit' in Shotts and Barnsley: persistent strike locations 6 Strike participation and solidarity before 1912 'We band of brothers': the limits of solidarity 'Stop the wheels': generating solidarity before the 1912 national strike 7 Strikes, organization and consciousness in 1912 and after The solidaristic basis of the first national coal strike 'Everybody out': the national lock-outs of 1921 and 1926 Local exemplifications: the Ammanford anthracite strike of 1925 and the Harworth strike of 1936-7 8 Conflictual context? The'isolated mass'revisited Locality and community: illustrations, models and critiques Meaning and measurement of the 'isolated mass' Appendix: the area sample and statistical procedures 9 Mining and modernity: size, sectionalism and solidarity Consequences of size: ideas and hypotheses The 'size effect' in coalmining Appendix: the colliery sample and statistical procedure 10 The foundations of strike propensity Alternative models of coalfield conflict Testing the models: the basis of strike propensity in coalmining Appendix: statistical procedures 11 Miners and management: agency and action 'Staying down and marching out': pit strikes Pit culture: miners and managers 12 Industrial relations and strikes after nationalization Management, labour and government Change or continuity? The delineation and distribution of coalmining strikes1947-66 13 International perspectives International patterns and analyses The European context Euro-American comparisons: limitations and possibilities 14 Myths and realities: strikes, solidarity and 'militant miners' General appendix List of references Index