Union absorptions in times of restructuring: the importance of attitude towards merger in predicting post‐merger attachment levels

Unions frequently restructure through merger, most often in the form of absorptions involving one bigger union absorbing a smaller one. However, the individual‐level effects of merger resulting in big amorphous organisations remain unclear. In this article, we highlight the role of the individual member in union absorptions, and investigate the relative importance of being a member of a large absorbing union or a small absorbed union, as well as the attitude of members towards merger in predicting post‐merger member attachment. The results from longitudinal data before and after absorption showed that members' attitude towards merger significantly predicted the members' attachment levels after absorption—this was, however, not the case for union commitment. We also uncovered a significant interaction indicating that the effect of members' attitude towards merger was more strongly related to perceptions of union support and instrumentality among members of the absorbed union.     

Diversity in trade union membership: a typology based on the study of a Spanish trade union

While existing literature on the changing nature of trade union membership concentrates on unidimensional differences between members, this article proposes a multidimensional typology, which considers demographic characteristics as well as labour market position and length of union membership. Our results allow the identification of different member profiles; these are significantly associated to differences in employment conditions, work participation, job satisfaction and union activism. In the last section of the article, we discuss the practical implications that these different member profiles may have for union policy and organisation.     

Union Revitalization: How Women and Men Officers See the Relationship Between Union Size and Union Tolerance for Sexual Harassment

Larger memberships resulting from union mergers and consolidations have heightened the issue of union responsiveness to economic and noneconomic needs of members. In this study, we focused on a gender-moderated relationship between union size and perceived union tolerance for sexual harassment, in which low perceived tolerance (a desirable outcome) was anticipated as a noneconomic need relevant to union women. Data were collected from women and men officers (N?=?120) in various unions. Officers were viewed as well-positioned informants on tolerance in relation to union policies and practices. As hypothesized, the data confirmed that women in larger unions rated tolerance significantly higher (an undesirable outcome) than women in smaller unions. No such tolerance variation was found for men in relation to smaller and larger unions. Implications for union revitalization and future research on union size are discussed.     

Accounting for geographical variance in the union satisfaction gap

Evidence of spatial variance in the relationship between trade union membership and job satisfaction is limited. Using three nationally representative data sets, we examine lower levels of satisfaction among union members and considers how this relationship varies geographically across the nations and regions of Great Britain. The analysis demonstrates that the union satisfaction gap can largely be accounted for by relative characteristics of union members and the jobs that they hold. However, there is evidence of geographical variance. The union satisfaction gap is generally found to be highest within Scotland and North of England. Despite high levels of union membership, evidence of a union satisfaction gap in Wales is relatively weak. These differences relate to differences in the perceptions of industrial relations among employees across these areas, which appear to be related to geographical variance in worker heterogeneity.     

Union suppression and union substitution strategies of multinational enterprises in Ghana

This article complements the literature by furthering the understanding of an ‘African dimension’ of multinational enterprise (MNE) union avoidance. The evidence suggests that MNEs engaged in both union suppression and union substitution strategies by (i) exploiting young employees' apathy to promote opposition and indifference for union organisation (evil stuff), (ii) implementing union member‐centred employee retrenchment (fear stuff), (iii) using enterprise‐level collective bargaining arrangement to suppress union bargaining power (fear and fatal stuff), (iv) exploiting the fragmented labour union environment to suppress union organisation (fatal and evil stuff) and (v) promoting individual employee voice and involvement mechanisms (sweet stuff). Although MNEs in Ghana engaged in both union suppression and union substitution strategies, they appear to particularly favour the adoption of ‘union suppression’ strategies and what might be termed as ‘corridor tactics’. Our article highlights four transitional issues underpinning the emerging success of ‘corridor tactics’ in union suppression in a less developed host country.     

Union wage premiums in Great Britain: Coverage or membership?

This paper presents estimates of union wage premiums for Great Britain and distinguishes between union membership and union coverage effects on wages. For this purpose a panel data system estimator is applied to data from the British Household Panel Survey.For female workers a coverage premium of 6.1% is estimated whilst no evidence of a union membership premium is found. This result lends support to the by-product theory of Olson (1965) [Olson Jr., M., 1965. The logic of collective action. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.)]: if female covered members receive other private benefits than a higher wage from the union the coverage premium could be viewed as a by-product. For male workers no evidence is found of a membership premium nor a coverage premium. To investigate potential bias in the estimated union effects particular attention is paid to measurement error in union membership and the inclusion of job-changes in the sample.     

Union recognition in Ireland: one step forward or two steps back?

In this paper a variety of union recognition procedures and their effect on union density levels in a number of countries are considered. The crucial importance of the national institutions that govern industrial relations are emphasised. While in Ireland, conditions such as social partnership and the buoyant economy of the 1990s would appear to favour union growth, the reverse has been the case. Recent legislation to establish more formal procedures for union recognition, we argue, is likely to be a dismal failure. Indeed, an unintended consequence of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 may be the exclusion of the union from the workplace and the legitimisation of a firm's non‐union status.     

Personnel Policies and Practices in British Trade Unions: An Exploratory Study

Full-time trade union professional employees play a significant role in the formulation and implementation of union policy and are, therefore, an important asset of any labour organisation. In recent years, researchers have begun to focus on this important union resource. This study reports the results of a survey of the internal personnel policies and practices of British trade unions in an effort to gain insights into trade unions as organisations.     

Trade union shopfloor representation in Germany

Most publications on German industrial relations tend to focus on works councils but miss trade union delegates and senior delegates. Seeking to address this lack of research, a case study of a large manufacturing plant is used to examine the role of union delegates and senior delegates and their relationship to works councils. The case study seeks to show why works councils are inextricably linked to the union movement, even though both are structurally separated. Research findings support the notion that both are in a mutually supportive relationship. Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that trade union shopfloor representation is of crucial importance for works councils, industrial democracy and trade unions in German industrial relations.     

Victimisation and agency: the social construction of union women’s leadership

This article interrogates the notion that women union leaders lead differently. Despite significant variation in the union movements in Australia, Canada, Sweden, the UK and the USA, similar discourses on women’s union leadership emerge in all five countries. Based on a materialist social construction approach which supports a recognition of difference without reference to essentialist ideas about women’s nature, this article seeks to identify what may be common across these countries to explain this phenomenon. The article argues that the fact that women face discrimination in unions, on the one hand, and organise as a constituency and have access to women‐only education, on the other, supports the development of transformational leadership among women unionists, even across diverse contexts and cultures. Unpacking union women’s leadership practices in this way reveals a dialectic of victimisation and agency.     

Explaining activity and exploring experience—findings from a survey of union learning representatives

This article draws on data from one of the largest surveys to date of union learning representatives (ULRs) in order to build a unique picture of ULR experience and activity. It is found that ULRs made a contribution to increased diversity and represented an injection of ‘new blood’ within workplace union structures. Moreover, ULRs with no previous union involvement were just as likely to be active in promoting learning as their more experienced colleagues. At the same time, we found that a significant minority of trained ULRs were not active in union learning. While ULR activity was not confined within traditionally unionised settings, active and effective ULRs were most likely to be found in workplaces with substantive structures and institutions that underpinned union learning and reflected a clear commitment from the employer. ULR activity was more difficult to start and to sustain in workplaces in which this support was absent. The article concludes that in order for ULR activity to permeate such environments, some degree of additional statutory support may be necessary.     

Exploring the paradox of unionised worker dissatisfaction

This paper explores the apparent paradox that while unions exist to promote the interests and well-being of their members, UK survey evidence consistently shows that union members report lower levels of job satisfaction than non-union workers. A review and further analysis of the evidence confirms that this difference persists after controlling for other factors such as type of work. If union member dissatisfaction reflects a form of voice, then we might expect to see resulting gains. An analysis of data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey indicates that any gains are modest. Evidence is presented to suggest that although management has become less hostile to trade unions, a degree of anti-union sentiment remains, sometimes leading to a muffling of the union voice, and this helps to account for some of the union member dissatisfaction.     

Trade union recognition and the recession in the UK

Against a background of falling union density and the increased presence of non-union plants and firms in the UK, this paper reviews union attempts to obtain recognition in recent years. Particular attention is paid to the use of conciliation for this purpose, with the evidence indicating a considerable decline in union success.     

Recognising the lesbian and gay constituency in UK trade unions: moving forward in UNISON?

Recent research on trade union democracy has drawn attention to the heterogeneity of union membership and the social processes within unions which can lead to the inclusion or exclusion of specific constituencies within union structures. This article draws on a case study of lesbian and gay self organisation in UNISON to illustrate the value of developing democratic structures to reflect this constituency and improve trade union representation and participation.     

A trade union model with endogenous militancy: interpreting the French case

This paper aims to provide a simple trade union model which highlights some of the distinctive institutional features of French unionism. The model focuses on the determinants of militancy and membership in a frictionless economy. It brings into the picture three types of agents and their specific behaviour: firms accept to pay a premium in order to avoid strikes, individuals participate in the union in order to maximise their expected income and union leadership seeks to maximise his/her net personal gain. By adapting militancy—broadly defined as hard stance during the annual wage bargaining—the union leader may achieve a unionisation rate consistent with his/her own objectives. It is shown that a non-Walrasian labour market equilibrium exists wherein real wages, employment, union size and militancy are jointly determined. In comparative statics, the model predicts a negative relationship between militancy and membership; recent evolutions of the main French union confederations tend to support this conclusion.     

Claims,Concerns and Interests In British Credit Union Development

The British credit union movement has grown rapidly over the past decade, albeit from a low base relative to other nations. That growth has been led by a natlonal credlt union pollcy network. Thls article provides a detailed appraisal of the structure of that network, the motivations of its members and the relations between them.

This study highlights the existence of contradictions in the ‘policy space’ occupied by this network that have obscured the public interest In credit union development to date. These contradictions need to be resolved if the performance of the system as a whole is to be improved and public policy goals are to be met Increasing visibtlity ensuing from repeated endorsement of credit unions by the Labour government is bringing added pressures to bear on that network. New actors may be expected to enter the credit union polltlcal market as a result The irnpacts of entry, both positive and negative, are evaluated in terms of the coheslon and effectiveness of ihe credit union policy network.     

Exploring the dynamics of industrial relations in US multinationals: evidence from the Republic of Ireland

While previous work has identified a shift in the host business system which facilitates multinational corporations in their quest to introduce non‐union approaches, little or no qualitative data have been brought to bear on this issue. This article presents case‐based evidence on the dynamics of this trend in Ireland, focusing specifically on management approaches to collective employee representation as well as providing an exposition of the patterns of trade union recognition and avoidance in evidence.     

Engaging the professional: organising call centre agents in India

The extremely challenging external environment poses numerous challenges to union formation among call centre agents in India. Complicating matters is the acquired professional identity of call centre agents. In this scenario, the union organising call centre employees envisaged that partnership with employers was the only possibility acceptable to call centre agents, employer organisations and society at large, enabling them to regain some acceptability and credibility for the heretofore tainted Indian trade union movement.     

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.     

Explaining union membership of temporary workers in Spain: the role of local representatives and workers’ participative potential

It has been widely assumed that type-of-contract segmentation represents a strong structural constraint on trade union growth. The analysis of a sample of the Spanish workforce shows, however, that the effect of contract type on union membership is not statistically significant once the availability and performance of local union representatives are introduced in the explanatory model. Additionally, the worker’s participative potential, as indicated by his/her social and political capital, is also found to be a major explanatory factor. These findings are placed in comparative perspective and discussed in relation to possible union revitalisation strategies.