The Decline of Trade Union Organisation (1987) considers the reasons behind the decline in trade union membership and discusses the prospects for recovery. It shows that many factors were at work besides unemployment growth and overall it argues that the changing structure and nature of British industry was having a fundamental affect on the nature of trade union activity. It points to legislation which protects individual employees without the need for union involvement; to the fact that a major growth area is the private services sector which has been traditionally poorly unionised; and the rise in smaller non-union plants.
Overview This book offers the detailed historical background required for a holistic appreciation of current problems faced and the possibilities for revitalisation. In two volumes it provides introductory overviews of trade union development since the end of World War II in 26 countries from every corner of the globe. Each chapter explains the main contours of trade union growth and development in one country from the pivotal year 1945 to the present. Each chapter assesses the often dynamic expansion of trade unionism in the 1950s and 1960s; the role of trade unionism in the movements for national liberation in the Global South and the erection of social welfare systems in the developed North; the economic shocks that resulted in membership decline and loss of political influence from the late 1970s onward; the economic restructuring and growing labour market diversity of the 1980s and 1990s that undercut the traditional bases of trade union membership; and the historical roots of the contemporary political and economic context in which revitalisation efforts are taking place.
The purpose of this thesis is to assess the most significant factors accounting for the decline of trade union density during the period 1984-2006, specifically the case of Mexico. Union density, which reflects the representation of unions in the employed labour force, is taken as one of the main indicators of trade unions' strength. Other aspects are also considered, such as the relation of organised labour with the state and the political system. The analysis is framed within a structure concentrated on cyclical, structural and political-institutional factors linked to trade union performance. In the period studied, the transformations brought about by neoliberalism and democratisation reshaped many features of the domestic political and economic model. Thus, an examination of these developments, regarding the repercussions on the factors linked to union density decline, is crucial. The problem In the last quarter of the 20th century, trade unions around the world faced numerous difficulties in overcoming the challenges raised by economic and political transformations which reshaped the world of labour. For example, labour unions lost ground as major actors in the political and labour realms, compared with their privileged position over the post-war period. Similarly, union representation within the employed labour force has declined concurrently with the deterioration of real wages, fringe benefits, and social provisions. Collective labour contracts were dismantled during the f1exibilisation of labour. Furthermore, organised labour has seen its infl uence reduced in the political sphere, which has created an unfavourable outcome for workers. The collective bargaining power of labour unions before employers has also eroded because of the ease with which capital can relocate production. In sum, organised labour has seen its position reduced in various spheres and has faced a manifold crisis. Significant academic research has demonstrated the decline of trade unions in the last decades. In a wide study covering 92 countries, the International Labour Organisation ILO (1998) demonstrated that during the 1980s and 1990s the share of unionised workers with respect to the labour force diminished in most of the countries. According to this report, between 1985 and 1995 unionisation declined in 87 of 92 countries around the world. Furthermore, in only 14 of these countries were union density rates higher than 50% and in more than half, they were less than 20%. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 0 ECD (1997,2004 and 2009) has also published numerous reports on the topic in which it can be seen that the expansion of union density in the employed labour force is the exception, not the rule, in the majority of the countries of this organisation. Although there is a consensus in academia that trade unions and workers have seen a detrimental panorama in recent decades, this is not the case regarding the factors explaining the regression of trade unions which appear divergent in each country and typically depend on national institutions, making necessary the study of individual cases. There are different explanations for union density decline. For instance, the advance of the production system; the implementation of technology in the workplace, which has reduced the number of employees; changes in employment composition; i.e., the decline of industry and the rise of services; the lack of identification with unions among new workers largely composed by the young and by females; the role of the state, employers and corporations, and especially the inefficiency of union leadership, among others. In addition, economic and social policies and the dismantling of corporatist structures are also considered in this regard. In view of that multiplicity of factors, it is crucial to establish those most relevant to the decline of labour union density. However, as can be seen, factors relating to the decline of unions are heterogeneous and merit proper classification as well as an explanation of their relevance in specific cases.
An economic and military superpower with 20 percent of the world’s population, China has the wherewithal to transform the international system. Xi Jinping’s bold calls for China to “lead in the reform of the global governance system” suggest that he has just such an ambition. But how does he plan to realize it? And what does it mean for the rest of the world? In this compelling book, Elizabeth Economy reveals China’s ambitious new strategy to reclaim the country’s past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape in dramatic new ways. Xi’s vision is one of Chinese centrality on the global stage, in which the mainland has realized its sovereignty claims over Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the South China Sea, deepened its global political, economic, and security reach through its grand-scale Belt and Road Initiative, and used its leadership in the United Nations and other institutions to align international norms and values, particularly around human rights, with those of China. It is a world radically different from that of today. The international community needs to understand and respond to the great risks, as well as the potential opportunities, of a world rebuilt by China.
This book features original research underpinned with theory drawn from economics, organization theory, history and social psychology. The authors deliver a comprehensive analysis of trade unions’ prospects in the new millennium as well as case studies which deal with topical issues such as: the reasons for the loss of five million members in the 1980s and 1990s the way in which unions’ own structures inhibit their revitalization the apparent failure of unions to thrive in the benign times since 1997 the extent to which use of the internet will permit unions to break with their tradition of organizing by occupation or industry the prospects for real social partnership at national level the way in which high performance workplaces in the US give voice to workers without unions. Written by some of the leading scholars in the area, this book gives an insight into union prospects for the future and has important policy implications for all parties concerned with industrial relations, unions, employers and governments.
The coronavirus pandemic of 2019-20 and its associated global economic collapse has bluntly revealed that decision makers everywhere are ill-equipped to identify the innovative capacities of modern societies and, in particular, deploy managers to harness such capabilities. Getting the problem of management right is a voyage to the heart of human experience. Indeed, the perennial questions that haunt our existence almost invariably prompt answers that invoke conceptions of work, transformative effort and realisation of ideas. One way or another, all such endeavour requires management. It is often overlooked that more than any other discipline, management history brings into focus humanity’s most pressing questions. At the time of writing, these queries come with a disquieting urgency. What is management? How do its modern methods differ from those in pre-industrial societies? How does the management that emerged in Western Europe and North America in the nineteenth century differ from forms practiced in the twentieth? In what ways do Asian, African and South American societies have distinctive managerial philosophies? Perhaps most importantly, what don’t we know or don’t do very well? It is to these fundamental questions that the Palgrave Handbook of Management History speaks. The work’s 63 chapters – authored by 27 of the world’s leading management and business thinkers – explore virtually every aspect of management globally as well as across millennia. The series explores the theoretical contributions of classical Western business and management scholars (Adam Smith, Frederick Taylor, Elton Mayo, Peter Drucker, Alfred Chandler, etc.) as well as commentaries from critical theorists such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Hayden White. The Handbook is also practical. For example, its content addresses the day to day experience of management in ancient Greece and Rome as well as the contemporary approaches of China, France, South Africa, India, Denmark, Australia, South America, New Zealand and the Middle East. In short, the Palgrave Handbook provides students of economics, management, business theory and practice, and critical studies with a single comprehensive and in-depth point of reference.
Annotation Between 1977 and 1997, the union wage premium declined for less- educated workers, while it rose for better-educated union workers. In this study, Baldwin (professor emeritus, economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison) investigates the role of changes in US imports and exports and finds that increased global trade has contributed to the decline in unionization among workers with less education. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
Organizing Matters demonstrates the interplay between two distinct logics of labour’s collective action: on the one hand, workers coming together, usually at their place of work, entrusting the union to represent their interests and, on the other hand, social bargaining in which the trade union constructs labour’s interests from the top down. The book investigates the tensions and potential complementarities between the two logics through the combination of a strong theoretical framework and an extensive qualitative case study of trade union organizing and recruitment in four countries – Austria, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands. These countries still utilize social-wide bargaining but find it necessary to draw and develop strategies transposed from Anglo-American countries in response to continuously declining membership.
