Comparative Union Democracy: Organization and Opposition in British and American UnionsA major empirical study of thirty-one British and fifty-one American national trade unions, this volume provides the background to 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.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. |
Contents
The Nature of Oligarchy | |
An Organisational Theory of Union Democracy | |
Overall BritishAmerican Differences in Organisation | |
Organisation and Opposition in the United States | |
Organisation and Opposition in Britain | |
Opposition Factions and Political Culture | |
Sustained Electoral Opposition in | |
Sustained Electoral Opposition in | |
TopLevel Defeats in Certain American | |
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administration American unions appeals appointed Area assistant general secretary 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 correlations David Edelstein defeats democratic differences direction effect electoral opposition electoral system Engineers executive council executive councillors factions Factor VIII factors favourable federal full-time officers greater number hierarchical incumbent internal Labour Party leaders leadership left-wing Lipset majority membership Mineworkers national committee national executive committee national unions negotiations next-to-top officers nomination number of levels number of next-to-top oligarchy periodic group periodic unions permanent-post group permanent-post unions political postal ballot predictors president rank-and-file referendum regional relationship representation representatives rules runner-up percentage Scanlon second-ranking shop stewards social South Wales stewards strike structure top and next-to-top top officer top post top vacancies trade union two-party system union democracy United variables voting system workers