Union renewal: what can we learn from three decades of research?

Drawing on three decades of research on union renewal, this article asks what we can learn from these studies. It covers successively the modernisation of union strategy, the re-engineering of union structures and organising techniques, the renewal of collective action repertoires, and the search to bridge the gap between labour market insiders and outsiders. While the research on these four themes yields few easy answers, it does highlight a continuing search for trade union renewal from which real understanding emerges. The overarching argument is that this long process of democratic experimentalism in union purpose and practice needs to be understood in exactly those terms. It also highlights the critical role of strategic capabilities and the need to develop these capabilities in order to experiment with innovations likely to reveal new sources of vigour for worker organisations.

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The Politics of Social Inclusion and Labor Representation

10.7591/cornell/9781501736575.001.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Heather Connolly ◽

Miguel Martínez Lucio ◽

Stefania Marino

Keyword(s):

Trade Union ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Immigrant Workers ◽

Immigrant Community ◽

European Level ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Union Renewal ◽

Union Action

The book explores the question of social inclusion and trade union responses to immigration in the European context, comparing the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research the book focuses on how trade unions - particularly more established and institutionalised trade unions - respond to immigrant workers and what they perceive to be the important points of renewal and change that are required for a more integrated and supported immigrant community to emerge. The book also considers the role of European level trade union relations on the question of immigration and how trade unionists have attempted to deal with very different national configurations of trade union action. The book argues that we need to appreciate the complexity of trade union traditions, paths to renewal and competing trajectories of solidarity. While trade union organisations remain wedded to specific trajectories, trade union renewal remains an innovative if at times problematic set of choices and aspirations.

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Trade Unionists in Parliament and Macroeconomic Performance: Evidence from Germany

The Economic and Labour Relations Review ◽

10.1177/103530461102200307 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 101-116

Author(s):

Michael Berlemann ◽

Klaus W. Zimmermann

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Labour Market ◽

Trade Union ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Macroeconomic Performance ◽

Macroeconomic Conditions ◽

Political Debates ◽

Members Of Parliament

This article focuses on the role of unionised members of parliament. While unions have a direct effect on the labour market via wage negotiations, they often also take part in political debates. In many countries, significant shares of the members of parliament are also members of a trade union. However, up to now little empirical evidence is available on the extent to which unionised members of parliament try to achieve union-specific goals and thereby influence the macroeconomic conditions of an economy. A recent study for Germany comes to the conclusion that union members in the Bundestag cannot be seen as the parliamentary arm of the trade unions. However, we present contradicting empirical results by showing that, in Germany at least, the degree of unionisation of parliamentary members has a negative impact on economic growth and increases inflation, while unemployment remains unaffected.

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The Amendment of the Wage-Fund Theory and the Legalization of British Trade Unions in 1871

Historical Studies in Industrial Relations ◽

10.3828/hsir.2021.42.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 1-25

Author(s):

Michel S. Zouboulakis

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

Trade Union ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Legal Status ◽

Industrial Relations ◽

Wage Bargaining ◽

Royal Commission ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Legal Position

Before the Trade Union Act 1871 the legal position of trade unions in the United Kingdom was at best ambiguous, as in many ways they remained outside the law. At the same time, Political Economy maintained that, given a country’s stock of capital and the population of workers, any rise in wages would undermine profits and accumulation. This provided the rationale for politicians and industrialists to argue that wages were not negotiable and that collective action was illegitimate. In reviewing William Thornton’s defence of workers’ right to claim higher wages, John Stuart Mill accepted that the denial of the positive effect of trade unions on wages ‘is deprived of its scientific foundation’. Using evidence from debates in the Royal Commission on Trade Unions, 1867-69, this article examines the extent to which Mill’s acceptance of the economic argument in favour of trade-union collective action contributed to improving the legal status and role of unions in wage bargaining and to change in industrial relations.

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Transforming union women: the role of women trade union officials in union renewal

Industrial Relations Journal ◽

10.1111/1468-2338.00107 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 31-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Gill Kirton ◽

Geraldine Healy

Keyword(s):

Trade Union ◽

Union Renewal ◽

Role Of Women

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The Role of the SLP in Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening and Assessment

Perspectives on Language Learning and Education ◽

10.1044/lle15.2.50 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 50-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amy Philofsky

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Critical Role ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Prevalence Estimates ◽

Notable Increase ◽

Screening Assessment ◽

Critical Components

AbstractRecent prevalence estimates for autism have been alarming as a function of the notable increase. Speech-language pathologists play a critical role in screening, assessment and intervention for children with autism. This article reviews signs that may be indicative of autism at different stages of language development, and discusses the importance of several psychometric properties—sensitivity and specificity—in utilizing screening measures for children with autism. Critical components of assessment for children with autism are reviewed. This article concludes with examples of intervention targets for children with ASD at various levels of language development.

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