Social networks and strike participation: a dynamic analysis of the hollywood writers strike

Abstract

Support and commitment of union members, as well as solidarity among workers, are crucial for effective mobilization. This article examines the 2007-2008 Hollywood Writers' Strike as a case of a fragmented labour force in a creative industry. The article explores how social networks serve as facilitators of solidarity among workers and participation in strike events. There is robust empirical evidence in the literature, showing that organizational structure in the workplace determines social ties among workers, and these pre-existing ties are likely to have an effect on workers' commitment to and participation in a strike. However, this empirical literature is limited in the sense that it does not consider the evolution of social networks during organizing and strikes. Therefore, this study seeks to understand the effect of collective action on interpersonal relations among the participants, and the role of these ties on future strike participation. The main contribution of this article is to empirically show that social networks during a strike are dynamic, and participation in a strike is very much a function of these networks. We also show that propinquity and network intentionality were important tie formation mechanisms in the picket lines. The implications of these findings for organizers and trade-offs between hierarchical and decentralized mobilizations are also discussed.