How to Build a Trade Union Oligarchy

Abstract

Trade unions are ostensibly democratic organizations, but they often fail to operate as democracies in practice. Most studies of Western trade union democracy have acknowledged that oligarchy is the norm among unions but have nonetheless examined exceptional democratic unions to understand how those unions defied the trend. My study inverts this approach and instead examines two known oligarchical unions, the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) in the United States. I argue that union oligarchy requires certain conditions to thrive. Both unions lacked democratic rules, close-knit occupational communities, local autonomy, rank-and-file decision making, internal opposition, equality between members and officials, and free communication, but these absences were expressed in different ways in each organization. Comparing a prominent US union with a prominent Australian union allows for assessment of the extent to which oligarchy was the result of national context. I argue that the experience of trade union oligarchy in the United States and Australia was more similar than different. National differences between the two countries were important, but they manifested primarily as different methods to achieve similar outcomes.

Women’s Value in a Social Capital Context: a Net Present Social Value Analysis

“…This study is supported and validated by McEloy (200) who posits that social capital tends to value relationships and inherently manifest trust, reciprocity, shared values, networking, and norms. Stephenson (2018), affirms that the strength of social capital entities is rooted in their members' contribution since the management can utilize these contributed resources to attain their purpose. This women's perceptions of their organization's participation are positive (M=4.03, n=11).…”

Women’s Value In A Social Capital Context: A Net Present Social Value Analysis

“…The Women as a Source of Social Capital Stephenson (2018), af�irms that the strength of social capital entities is rooted in their members' contribution since the management can utilize International Journal of Business Studies Vol. 6 No.…”