106 union campaigns for recognition are currently underway. Contributions to this debate are welcome. Bakunin described trade unions as natural organisation of the masses and the only really effective weapon the workers could use against the bourgeoisie . However, there is much that is wrong with traditional trade unions. They are hierarchical, dominated by white men and largely do little to challenge capitalism.
Many anarchists reject such trade unions altogether.
They are dues-collecting machines whose continuity and stability rests on a passive membership . Anarcho-syndicalists seek, instead, to build rank and file organisations relying on direct action and self organisation. This is the argument against abandoning traditional trade unions. Much workplace trade union activity is undertaken by lay representatives rather than paid officers. The Liverpool Dockers showed that it is possible for unions to move beyond narrow economic aims when they established The Movement for Social Justice.