Fear and Leadership in Union Organizing Campaigns

This article adopts a mobilization framework to examine the crucialactions of workplace activists in overcoming fear of employer reprisal during unionorganizing campaigns in hostile environments. The article explores fear as part of theorganizing process in two ways; first, we examine how fear can act as a stimulus forworkplace activists to take action in an attempt to overcome the source of that fear.Second, we examine fear as an inhibiting factor in organizing, whereby the presence offear hinders individuals from taking action. Using qualitative data from interviewsconducted with workplace activists across a variety of campaigns in Ireland, thisarticle examines the process through which workplace activists conquer their own senseof fear and undertake the task of mobilizing colleagues toward collective action inpursuit of union representation amid fear of employer reprisal