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Full-Text Articles in Business

It Takes More Than House Calls: Organizing To Win With A Comprehensive Union-Building Strategy, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Tom Juravich Dec 2008

It Takes More Than House Calls: Organizing To Win With A Comprehensive Union-Building Strategy, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Tom Juravich

Kate Bronfenbrenner

[Excerpt] Until recently, some national and local union leaders still argued that labor should circle the wagons and take care of existing members rather than spend scarce resources on organizing nonunion workers. Today those voices have largely been silenced by the hard numbers of labor's dramatic decline. As expressed in the platform of the new AFL-CIO leadership slate, the American labor movement must "organize at an unprecedented pace and scale." The question unions face today is no longer whether to make organizing a priority but how that can best be achieved.


Ilr Impact Brief - Transcending Free Market Unionism: A New Alliance For New York State Unions, Jeff Grabelsky Jan 2008

Ilr Impact Brief - Transcending Free Market Unionism: A New Alliance For New York State Unions, Jeff Grabelsky

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] In the few years since the AFL-CIO consolidated 25 of the 31 central labor councils in New York State into five area labor federations (ALFs), local union affiliates have begun to transcend the narrow interests that long divided one union from another. ALFs have begun to embrace new and more diverse leaders, strengthen their functional capabilities, forge coalitions with community groups, and help elect politicians who are more responsive to the concerns of working families. Whether the restructured labor movement has a greater ability to affect organizing drives and contract negotiations is still unclear.


The Relationship Between New Work Practices, Trust And Unions, Carol Gill Dec 2007

The Relationship Between New Work Practices, Trust And Unions, Carol Gill

Carol Gill

This paper examines extant theory and empirical research on new work methods, employee voice, employee trust and unions to draw conclusions on the relationship between these constructs and make recommendations for future empirical research. It found that trust is an important antecedent of new work methods and that union collective voice when coupled with collaborative industrial relations enhances employee trust which facilitates the successful adoption of new work methods and delivers sustainable competitive advantage. This refutes the proposition that unions are a threat to productivity which leads management respond with union avoidance and suppression. This paper has implications for management …


How Unions Impact On The State Of The Psychological Contract To Facilitate The Adoption Of New Work Practices, Carol Gill Dec 2007

How Unions Impact On The State Of The Psychological Contract To Facilitate The Adoption Of New Work Practices, Carol Gill

Carol Gill

This article draws together extant knowledge from the psychological contract, trust, union and new work practices (NWP) literature to develop a model on how union presence impacts on the effective adoption of NWP. It proposes that the strength of unions, coupled with the quality of industrial relations, determines whether unions will have a positive or negative impact on NWP. Unions can have a positive impact on the adoption of NWP by reducing the gap between management rhetoric and reality through employee voice and workforce stability. This builds trust between management and employees creating a virtuous cycle that can mitigate contract …