Union Strategies in Comparative Context

Frege, Carola M.; Kelly, John

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270149.003.0003

Cited by 64 publications

(82 citation statements)

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“…The literature on women and unions tends to be nationally focused and insular in nature. We believe that our cross-national research contributes by highlighting both similarities and differences in women's leadership in two countries that sit within the same variety of capitalism and unionism (Frege and Kelly, 2004), and simultaneously exhibit many differences at the level of welfare, employment and gender regimes (Tomlinson, 2007). This co-existence of similarity and difference is as intriguing as it is instructive for what it can tell us about women's union leadership.…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Revitalization is high on the agenda in both countries, and the need to attract new members, particularly previously marginalized groups (especially women and black and minority ethnic workers) is recognized (Baccaro et al, 2003). Thus, this similar institutional context has the effect of creating similar goals between UK and US unions -organizing workplaces; collective bargaining and mobilizing member voting in political elections (Kelly and Frege, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA

Kirton

Healy

2013

Work, Employment and Society

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This article asks what sustains women union leaders' long-term union participation given an internal environment often hostile to women and an external context antagonistic to unions. This article considers the dynamics of long-term participation by drawing on social movement interrelated concepts of commitment and collective identity in the context of a comparative study of American and British women union leaders. The study explores the experiences of 134 women union leaders, the majority of whom are long-term union participants. The findings reveal that commitment is strengthened by women's experience of both expressive and intrinsic rewards but that such rewards are offset by costs, some of which are universal to union leadership, but others are particularly gendered. It was found that while a gendered collective identity may inform union collective identity, it is the union collective identity and associated solidarity that remains dominant in contemporary British and American women's union leadership.

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Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA

Kirton

Healy

2013

Work, Employment and Society

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“…Works councils have been regarded as a cause of union conservatism in the development of revitalization strategies. Two reasons are often advanced to explain this (Baccaro, Hamann, & Turner, 2003;Frege & Kelly, 2004). The first is that, in the past, membership recruitment was organized mainly by works councils and therefore was not part of unions' core business.…”

Section: Union Revitalization Work Councils and Business Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Union Renewal and Business Strategies - Strategic Codetermination of Works Councils and the Campaign “Better Not Cheaper” of the German Metalworkers’ Union

Haipeter¹

2013

IBR

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The trade union campaign "Better not cheaper" of the German metalworkers' union IG Metall is one of the most famous attempts of union revitalization in Germany and at the same time a new approach of unions to influence business strategies. Focusing on the activation of works councils, the aim of the campaign is to cope with the problem of disorganized decentralization of collective bargaining by developing concepts for a renewal of business strategies in the firms. The paper is based on a research project recently finished. In the project 16 case studies of plants which have been part of the campaign have been made and a survey among union locals was conducted. The paper analyzes the effects of the campaign on works councils' codetermination, on labor relations and on business strategies. The author concludes that the results of the campaign have been mixed up to now. On the one hand, the campaign has proven to be successful in activating the works councils to challenge management concepts, to enhance competencies and resources and, most important, to develop new forms of expert participation of employees. On the other hand, the scope of strategic codetermination and of the renewal of business concepts has been rather narrow, and membership effects for the union have been only sporadic and indirect. Therefore, the campaign should provide strategic competencies for the works councils more systematically, and the fight for new business strategies should go hand in hand with membership campaigns in the plants.

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“…This is shown particularly in terms of a decline in collective bargaining coverage (see Table 2). As centralized bargaining has virtually collapsed, the bargaining position of unions very much depends on their organizational strength (Frege and Kelly, 2004). It is against this background that the TUC and some individual unions have moved towards an 'organising unionism' (Heery et al, 2000) aiming to reach out to previously untapped sections of the labour force, including black and ethnic minority workers and more recent migrants.…”

Section: Explaining the Variations In Trade Union Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Race to the Bottom? Trade Unions, EU Enlargement and the Free Movement of Labour

Krings

2009

European Journal of Industrial Relations

122

114

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■ When eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe joined the EU in 2004, unions in some countries argued that significant wage differentials between the old and the new member states necessitated transitional restrictions on free movement, but others insisted that employment standards should be protected by the enforcement of rights, not by restrictions. This article explores variations in union policies in comparative perspective, examining Austria, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

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Union Strategies in Comparative Context

Cited by 64 publications

References 0 publications

Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA

Commitment and collective identity of long-term union participation: the case of women union leaders in the UK and USA

Union Renewal and Business Strategies - Strategic Codetermination of Works Councils and the Campaign “Better Not Cheaper” of the German Metalworkers’ Union

A Race to the Bottom? Trade Unions, EU Enlargement and the Free Movement of Labour

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