The importance of gender for participation in and attitudes to trade unionism

This article attempts to establish the main determinants of an employee's involvement in trade unionism, and to explain the male/female differential in union participation. Women, especially parttime workers, are less likely to participate in union meetings than men, which seems largely attributable to women's lower favourability to trade unions, although women are as likely as men to believe in the principles of trade unionism.     

Attitudes to work and trade unionism among white-collar workers

In spite of the fact that the nature of their jobs is becoming closer to that of the manual worker, white collar workers still appear to see themselves in an essentially intermediate status in an organization, and this is reflected in their attitudes towards their work and towards trade unionism.     

Trade union attitudes to flexible working hours

This paper describes a study of trade union involvement with flexible working hours or ‘flexitime’. This system is now viewed far more positively but ‘blue collar’ unions have more reservations than their ‘white collar’ counterparts.     

Union organising and Full‐time Officers: acquiescence and resistance

In the mid‐1990s, the TUC relaunched itself with a strategy for renewal labelled ‘new unionism’. The strategy had two strands: partnership with employers and the promotion among affiliate unions of grassroots union organising. The latter, heavily influenced by US and Australian experience, saw possibilities for a more radical trade unionism in the UK. This article draws on a case study of Unison to analyse the organising strand of new unionism. It identifies how top‐down approaches to organising are distorted by union bureaucracy for the priority of recruitment, not only limiting the possibility of emerging union radicalisation but also restricting the ability of trade unions to represent their members. The article also identifies that the position of union Full‐time Officers is complex and not necessarily within a uniform union bureaucracy juxtaposed to and restraining a more radical union rank and file.     

The new independent trade unionism in Hungary

This article describes the development of political and economic reform in Hungary since 1956 and considers the recent emergence of independent trade unionism, particularly the new Democratic Union of Scientific Workers (TDDSZ). The author assesses the prospects for independent trade unionism in general as well as the reform of the official trade union movement (SZOT) in a rapidly changing political climate.     

Race discrimination at work: the moderating role of trade unionism in English local government

Workplace racism remains a serious issue despite over forty years of legislation alongside a raft of HRM policies. There remains limited research on the differences in employment experiences of British Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff and their white colleagues. There is a power imbalance at work as between individual employees and management, and this lack of equity has been traditionally counterbalanced by strong workplace trade unionism. In particular, we know little about the role of trade unionism on the perception of workplace equality among BAME employees. Using more than 2,580 valid responses from full‐time employees in highly unionised local councils, this study shows that BAME employees have a significantly lower evaluation than their white colleague of fair pay and equal work environment. The latter fully mediates the negative perception between BAME staff and fair pay; and furthermore, the perception of union commitment to equality strengthened their views of a management‐supported equal work environment.     

Unions fit for young workers?

If trade unions are to reverse the membership decline sustained since 1979, more young workers must be recruited. This paper examines the views of young workers towards trade unions by reference to survey data. It argues that there is little evidence of a ‘Thatcher’s children’ effect in which principled opposition to trade unionism is widespread. Instead the paper shows that shifts in the labour market, the effects of employer resistance to trade unionism and union inefficiencies have a marked effect on the unionisation of young workers.     

Do members' services packages influence trade union recruitment?

This article details a study of selected new members who joined a white collar professional trade union between 1st January and 30th September, 1988. The study examined the factors which motivated applications to join, especially with reference to a Members' Services Package.     

Workplace unions and workplace industrial relations: the Italian experience

An examination of the Italian system of workplace trade unionism and industrial relations reveals an interaction of legal protection and union and managerial behaviour that has contributed to the rapid development of local bargaining. Both this and the recent problems of union representativeness have implications for British students.     

Trade union membership and dismissals

In Germany, there is no trade union membership wage premium and a membership fee of 1% of the gross wage. Therefore, prima facie, there are strong incentives to free-ride on the benefits of trade unionism. We establish empirical evidence for a private gain from trade union membership which has hitherto not been documented: in Western Germany, union members are less likely to lose their jobs than non-members. In particular, using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel we are able to show that roughly 50% of the observed raw differential in individual dismissal rates can be explained by the estimated average partial effect of union membership.     

White-collar unionisation in West Germany, 1960–1976

The rapid growth of white-collar trade union membership in the UK in recent years has been paralleled by a similar phenomenon in Germany. Hermann Bayer and his colleagues explain the causes and results of the growth in trade unionism in West Germany against a background of socio-political developments.     

Beyond the enterprise: trade union representation of freelances in the UK

Interest has grown in the methods that trade unions can use to organise and represent the substantial proportion of the workforce engaged in ‘contingent work’. This article examines trade union representation of self‐employed freelances in the UK. Empirical material is presented from case studies of the media and entertainment unions, with their long history of representing freelances, and more recently established unions representing freelance tour guides, interpreters and translators. The analysis indicates that there is a distinctive form of freelance unionism in the UK which is distinguished by its emphasis on organising and representing workers in the external labour market where they seek work and develop a mobile career. This orientation ‘beyond the enterprise’ distinguishes freelance unionism from the dominant form of unionism in Britain.     

Union recognition and non-unionism: shifting fortunes in the electronics industry in Scotland

Here the author analyses trade union prospects in Scottish electronics firms, and suggests that despite having a positive reputation amongst managers in existing unionised firms, the dynamics of new firm startup and employment change in the industry have augured badly for trade unionism, as have the rise of individualist approaches amongst managers.     

Workplace Union Resilience in the Merseyside Fire Brigade

Here the author provides evidence from empirical case study research into the changing nature of workplace industrial relations and trade union organisation within the Merseyside Fire Brigade over the last 10–15 years. He documents the main processes of development within an historical context assessing workplace unionism during the 1980s, the recent challenge posed by managerial restructuring in the early 1990s, and the wider implications for debates about the ‘state’ of workplace unionism in Britain today.     

Union militancy and left‐wing leadership on London Underground

The article provides evidence from case study research into trade union organisation and activity on the London Under‐ground during the 1990s. It explores the extent to which left‐wing political leadership influenced the collectivisation and mobilisation of workers in an adversarial direction, and whether or not this militant trade unionism was self‐defeating compared with a more moderate approach.     

New unions in the UK: the vanguard or the rearguard of the union movement?

Between January 1999 and March 2010, 34 trade unions entered the Certification Officer list or schedule in the UK. This article reports on a survey of those unions, discussing the extent to which they represent new forms of unionism and the possible implications for union revitalisation.     

Urban labour,voice and legitimacy: economic development and the emergence of community unionism

Community unionism has emerged in the past decade as a growing strand of industrial relations research and is influencing trade union strategies for renewal. This article seeks to further develop the concept, while exploring the potential roles for unions in communities subject to projects of urban regeneration.     

Sources of variation in trade union membership across the UK: the case of Wales

This article deals with issues relating to trade union density and the fact that while over the past 30 years, union densities have followed a declining path in all regions, this retreat was not uniform across space. Analysis of the Labour Force Survey reveals that Wales exhibits among the highest levels of union density in the UK. The reasons for this are examined through statistical analysis, historical analysis and interview data. These analyses reveal that there appear to be intrinsic differences in the nature of workplace representation in Wales; one linked to a particular style of trade unionism supported by the authority of a devolved state that continue to contribute to higher levels of membership.     

Danish flexicurity: preconditions and future prospects

This article argues that Danish flexicurity is preconditioned by craft unionism that has historically been predominant in the Danish trade union movement. It is furthermore argued that flexicurity was on the verge to disappear when it became famous in the early 2000s, although yet not completely dead.     

The influences on women joining and participating in unions

This article brings gender to the centre of concepts used to explore union joining and participation, demonstrating that a gender‐sensitive analysis adds to our understanding. Using qualitative data from a study of women in two large male‐dominated UK trade unions, the article explores four key influences on women's union joining and participation—family, union, work and feminism. While prior beliefs and values played a role in promoting joining and participation, gendered experiences of unions and the workplace had a more profound influence. Feminism affected the nature of participation in that self‐identified feminists were more critical of the masculine character of trade unionism.