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Beyond The Organizing Model: The Transformation Process In Local Unions, Bill Fletcher, Richard W. Hurd Sep 2010

Beyond The Organizing Model: The Transformation Process In Local Unions, Bill Fletcher, Richard W. Hurd

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] The ideological foundations of traditional U.S. trade unionism have been called into question by world and domestic events. The post-World War II labor movement, founded on a social truce with capital and the apparent inevitability of a rising living standard, has hit a bulkhead-piercing iceberg of dramatic proportions. The global economy, economic restructuring, deregulation, and privatization have wrought destruction on U.S. unions. In the wake of this devastation, it has become common, even for union leaders, to define unionism in objectively negative terms (e.g., without a union, you have no protection from arbitrary management). As a movement, we have …


Patterned Responses To Organizing: Case Studies Of The Union-Busting Convention, Richard W. Hurd, Joseph B. Uehlein Sep 2010

Patterned Responses To Organizing: Case Studies Of The Union-Busting Convention, Richard W. Hurd, Joseph B. Uehlein

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] In June 1993, the Industrial Union Department (IUD) of the AFL-CIO initiated a project to gather cases from affiliated unions that would highlight aspects of the National Labor Relations Board process deserving attention from those shaping labor law reform proposals. Based on the cases submitted, we conclude that in its current form the National Labor Relations Act serves to impede union organizing. Particularly problematic are NLRB policies that allow employers to wage no-holds-barred antiunion campaigns. Even where there are legal restrictions on specific actions, the penalties for violations are so meager that they serve no deterrent effect. The cases …


Introduction: The Context For The Reform Of Labor Law, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W. Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, Ronald L. Seeber Sep 2010

Introduction: The Context For The Reform Of Labor Law, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W. Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, Ronald L. Seeber

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] It has become increasingly clear that the U.S. system of collective bargaining is no longer a realistic option for a large and growing proportion of American workers, and the situation will continue to worsen absent a major redirection of public policy. The decline in union density rates in this country is alarming to those who value and promote unionization. The extent to which this decline is due to management resistance and the failure of the law to promote collective bargaining is an important question that requires continued study and debate. Opinion polls reveal that for millions of nonunion American …


Wege Zur Transformation Gewerkschaftlicher Organisationsstrukturen, Martin Behrens, Richard W. Hurd, Jeremy Waddington Aug 2010

Wege Zur Transformation Gewerkschaftlicher Organisationsstrukturen, Martin Behrens, Richard W. Hurd, Jeremy Waddington

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] Bei einer länderübergreifenden Betrachtung erweist sich die Neubelebung der Arbeiterbewegung als ein komplexer Prozess des Wandels, der je nach soziopolitischem und ökonomischem Kontext variiert.Zwar lassen sich zahlreiche, vielfältige Gewerkschaftsstrategien und Ergebnisse beobachten, aber dennoch sind in den meisten der untersuchten Länder (Deutschland, Italien, Spanien, Großbritannien, USA) verschiedene Formen der strukturellen Anpassung, wie Zusammenschlüsse und Übernahmen, sowie eine „Rationalisierung“ der internen Gewerkschaftsstrukturen übliche Elemente der Revitalisierungsbemühungen. Auch wenn viele Ansätze zur Veränderung der Gewerkschaftsstrukturen auf der Strecke blieben, so bleiben doch noch eine Reihe von Fällen bei denen Reformen zu den positive Ergebnissen führten,welche die Arbeitnehmerschaft dringend benötigte.


Contesting The Dinosaur Image: The Labor Movement’S Search For A Future, Richard W. Hurd May 2010

Contesting The Dinosaur Image: The Labor Movement’S Search For A Future, Richard W. Hurd

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] But the increased effectiveness of labor's political activities has not resulted in major improvements legislatively, and now there is a hostile President who opposes nearly every aspect of the union policy agenda. The promise for the future lies in the demonstrated ability to mobilize at the grassroots. But there are recent signs that national unions are breaking ranks and pursuing narrow self interest. The USWA joined with the steel industry to persuade the Bush administration to restrict imports, and even hinted at a possible endorsement for his reelection in 2004 (Murray). The UMWA has praised the president's energy policy, …