Gregor Gall is a Visiting Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Leeds and an Affiliate Research Associate at the University of Glasgow. He is also a writer and commentator, being the author and editor of 30 books, mainly about labour unions and about politics in Scotland. His latest book is a biographical and sociological study of rail union leader, Mick Lynch (2024).

• Introduction – Gregor GallPart I Components, Characteristics and Context1. Union identity and appeal – Lorenzo Frangi and Tinting Zhang2. Union interests and ideologies – Ronaldo Munck3. Union resources: the power-resources approach – Stefan Schmalz and Edward Webster4. Union forms: adaptation and inertia – Chiara Benassi, Christian Ibsen and Maite Tapia5. Union governance: South Africa and its lessons – Geoffrey Wood and Christine Bischoff6. Union relations – Kurt Vandaele7. Union terrains – Jamie WoodcockPart II Space, Power and Periodization8. The liberal capitalist starting point – Stefan Berger9. The social democratic high point – Greg Patmore10. The "socialist" experiment – Jeremy Morris11. The neoliberal low point – Chris HowellPart III The Practice of Building Presence and Power12. Union and the agendas of joint-regulation – Miguel Martinez Lucio13. From contesting the managerial prerogative to producing workers’ control – Alan Tuckman14. From sectionalism and sectionality to inter-sectionality – Jenny Rodriguez15. The rationality and limitations of labour union bureaucracy – David Camfield16. Unions as schools for lessons in democratic citizenship: implications for union strategy – Ed Snape17. Commitment to, and activism within, labour unionism – Jack Fiorito, Andrew Keyes, Pauline De Becdelièvre and Zachary Russell18. Working with and learning from other social movements – Heather Connolly19. Concentric circles of class struggle: from the workplace to the world – Marissa Brookes20. Unions and politics: why unions are not just the economic wing of the labour movement – Jörg Nowak and Roland Erne 21. Constantly outpaced and outgunned? Unions in the platform economy – Horen Voskeritsian22. When may the interests of labour and capital align? Johanna MacNeil and Mark BrayConclusion – Gregor Gall