Evolution of administrative practices in American unions: results from a 20-year study

Abstract

In sharp contrast to their counterparts at the bargaining tables, labor unions have traditionally given relatively little attention to the selection and training of their professional staff.' Results of a 1977-78 survey of national unions and employee organizations suggest an .emerging trend bringing them more into line with established personnel practices of business and government . College graduates, long sought by other employers, find doors beginning to open in labor unions ; the recent elections of college graduates as president and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO symbolize this change .' Formalized training, generally required for upward mobility in business and government, is gaining acceptance among unions . Even more striking, some of the recently inaugurated union staff training programs resemble in content and format those offered for management in other organizations .The literature describing and analyzing personnel policies of business and government is voluminous . By contrast, little is known about the personnel practices of labor unions .' This study, designed as a first step in filling this gap, addressed several key questions: How do national unions recruit and select their representatives? What functions do these staff members perform? What qualifications are expected of them? And, how are they

HRM solutions: a framework for small business owners to manage industrial relations while facilitating labour unionisation mitigation

“…However, the debate continues over HRM solutions to sustained competitive advantages. Scholars contend that the source of competitive advantage lies primarily within effective management of employees by using best practices of industrial relations and human resource management (Burgess and Michael, 1993; Flanagan and Deshpande, 1996; García et al , 2016; Gray et al , 2016; Hafeez and Lamare, 2021; Kulik, 2022).…”