Comparative Union Democracy: Organisation and Opposition in British and American UnionsA major empirical study of thirty-one British and fifty-one American national trade unions provides the background to this presentation of a new, organizationally oriented theory of union democracy. Supported by in-depth studies of the political process in the British Mineworkers' Union and the Engineers' Union, the book develops and illustrates a general theory of how, in a country with democratic norms, formal organization itself can constrain a tendency toward oligarchy by stimulating union competition among full-time officers attempting to rise in the union hierarchy. The broad theoretical framework also has implications for democracy in other types of large organizations and should be indispensable for students seeking to understand the political life of such organizations and their potential for democracy. "Comparative Union Democracy is a stimulating work of original scholarship which all involved or interested in union affairs, all those in any way concerned about the prospects for industrial democracy, should read." -Walter Kendall, Institute of Manpower Studies, University of Sussex. "Comparative Union Democracy is easily the best work on the subject that has appeared in years. It should be required reading for all those interested in organizational government, participatory democracy, generally, as well as in the labor movement." -Seymour Martin Lipset "For anyone seeking a better understanding of the workings of trade unions, it is both seminal and revelatory, and hence is required reading." -Nigel Nicholson "Overall, the book is theoretically insightful, methodologically sound, and exceptionally well-written." -J. David Lewis, University of Notre Dame |
Contents
3 | |
The Nature of Oligarchy | 28 |
An Organisational Theory of Union Democracy | 54 |
OVERALL FINDINGS | 85 |
Overall BritishAmerican Differences in Organisation and Opposition | 87 |
Organisation and Opposition in the United States | 115 |
Organisation and Opposition in Britain | 150 |
Opposition Factions and Political Culture | 188 |
CaseStudy 2 Sustained Electoral Opposition in the British Engineering Union | 263 |
CaseStudy 3 TopLevel Defeats in Certain American Unions | 319 |
CONCLUSIONS | 337 |
The Future of Union Democracy | 339 |
Epilogue to the Revised Edition | 359 |
Bibliography | 369 |
380 | |
381 | |
CASESTUDIES IN OPPOSITION | 207 |
CaseStudy 1 Sustained Electoral Opposition in the British Mineworkers Union | 209 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
American unions appeals appointed Area associated autonomy branch Britain British sample British unions campaign candidates cent close elections closeness of elections closeness of periodic closeness of top competition conference constitutional convention delegates correlations cracy David Edelstein defeats democratic differences direction district effect electoral opposition electoral system Engineers executive council executive councillors factions Factor VIII factors favourable federal full-time national officers full-time officers geographic organisation greater number incumbent internal Labour Party leaders leadership Lipset majority membership Mineworkers national committee national executive committee national unions next-to-top officers next-to-top posts nomination number of levels number of next-to-top oligarchy periodic group periodic unions permanent-post unions political postal ballot predictors president rank-and-file referendum regional relationship representation rules runner-up percentage Scanlon second-ranking shop stewards South Wales stewards strike structure tion top and next-to-top top officer top post top vacancies trade union union democracy United variables voting system Workers
Popular passages
Page vii - ... never be personally conscious of the conditions of the manual laborers. And though it may be assumed that the community as a whole would not deliberately oppress any section of its members, experience of all administration on a large scale, whether public or private, indicates how difficult it must always be, in any complicated organisation, for an isolated individual sufferer to obtain redress against the malice, caprice, or simple heedlessness of his official superior. Even a whole class or...
References to this book
The Meaning of Militancy?: Postal Workers and Industrial Relations Gregor Gall No preview available - 2003 |