scholarly journals Young Workers in Transition: Explaining the Density Gap by a Life-course Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laust Høgedahl ◽  
Rasmus Juul Møberg
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Western World ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Point Of Departure

A common challenge for all trade unions in most of the Western world is the growing trade union density gap between young and older workers. In this paper, we examine the generational trade union gap with point of departure in the Danish case. Our data stem from two large surveys (APL II & III).We find that young workers are not more individualized; to the contrary, unorganized young workers have a growing collective mind-set. Through the lens of a life-course perspective, our data show that young workers have a growing ‘fluidic’ working life. Many young workers also take jobs in parts of the labor market with weak trade unions representation not allowing them to get in contact with trade unions representatives.

How can trade unions in Europe connect with young workers?

2018 ◽  
pp. 660-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Vandaele
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Huge Amount ◽  
Social Custom ◽  
Generational Shift ◽  
Low Rate

Trade union density has almost universally declined across Europe in recent decades, although substantial cross-country variation still exists. This chapter argues that the currently low rate of youth unionization is not the outcome of a generational shift in attitudes and beliefs regarding the value of trade unions. This phenomenon is a result rather of the decline of union membership as a social custom and the diminishing exposure to unionism in the workplace. This chapter argues that unions have a huge amount of agency as they play a particularly important role in the effort to develop effective, tailor-made strategies for organizing young workers.

Een halve eeuw vakbondslidmaatschap : Een verkennende longitudinale studie naar enkele cyclische determinanten voor de ledenontwikkeling van de Belgische vakbonden, 1946-1995

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-32
Author(s):  
Kurt Vandaele
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Econometric Model ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Free Riding ◽  
Structural Variable ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Impact

This article explains the ebb and flow in Belgian trade union membership from 1946 to 1995 by replicating the econometric model by Bain and Elsheikhn in which changes in macro-economic variables are highly significant. Since the automatic indexation of wages and the extension of collective labour agreements invite free riding, the relevance of the change in inflation and real wage is quite striking. However, the free riding-effect is slowed down by the institutionalised presence of the trade unions on the work floor. The Ghent system explains the positive impact of the unemployment rate . The model is furthermore improved by the trade union density as a structural variable. The linear form reflects the enforcement effect, while the quadratic form mirrors the saturation effect on the trade union membership. Mainly due to the 'Allgemeinkoalitionsfähighkeit' of the Belgian government system, the impact of left parties on union growth and decline is not significant in a quantitative framework. With only four explanatory variables the model clarifies more than 75% of the fluctuations in Belgian trade union membership.

European trade union cooperation, union density and employee attitudes to unions

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-358
Author(s):  
Bengt Furåker
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
International Social Survey Programme ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Using Data ◽  
International Social

European trade unions have much to gain from cooperating with each other. Such cooperation does exist, but it is still fairly limited and many obstacles need to be overcome if cooperation is to be improved. According to our survey data, higher-level union officials regard differences concerning financial resources and national labour market regulations to be particularly substantial barriers to cooperation. The enormously varying union density across Europe, and its general decrease, also creates barriers. Therefore, employee attitudes to unions are examined using data from the International Social Survey Programme. As expected, union members tend to be more positive about trade unions than non-members. The most interesting finding, however, is that employees in some countries with low union density exhibit fairly positive views or at least views that are not less positive than what we find among employees in many countries with higher density rates. This suggests that there is potential for recruiting members.

Union Amalgamations and the Decline in Union Density

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Wooden
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Regression Model ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Marked Decline

Confronted by a marked decline in trade union density, the union movement in Australia bas responded by promoting the restructuring and amolgamation of trade unions. As a result, the number of active trade unions in Australia has fallen markedly since 1990. Despite tbis, the decline in trade union density accelerated during the 1990s, leading some analysts to suggest that the union amalgamation process may actually have been counterproductive in terms of overall trade union membership. This article tests this hypothesis using panel data collected as part of the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. A regression model of changes in union density in the period 1989/90 to 1995 is developed and estimated. The results indicate that while declining union numbers have been associated with the decline in union density, none of the blame for the fall can be traced to the amalgamation process.

scholarly journals An Investigation into the Role of Employer and Management Representatives during Collective Conciliation: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Adejoke Yemisi Ige
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
Workplace Justice ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Fear And Anxiety ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact

The International Labour Organisation describes ADR as a set of processes that comprise of negotiation, conciliation, mediation and arbitration. This description includes a set of approaches to settling disputes, which in practice vary significantly in terms of their nature and use from one institutional context to another. ADR has been analysed by some scholars as a means of bringing workplace justice to more people at lower cost and with greater speed than conventional government channels. Within the context of ADR, conciliation is seen as one of the most common and important forms of dispute resolution. Although there is a rising interest in the extent of and outcomes of conciliation, its nature in some contexts remains underexplored. This study presents empirical evidence collated among employer, management and trade union representatives as well as other stakeholders that have a role to play in collective conciliation in Nigeria. The study is qualitative due to its suitability for generating data and gathering rich and robust information. A total of twenty-three interviews were conducted between May 2015 and March 2016. The findings of this study reveal the impact of the independence and objectivity of ADR institutions while carrying out their responsibilities. It establishes that management and trade union interactions during conciliation are characterised by lack of trust, lack of confidence, fear and anxiety. It demonstrates how the attitude of management during negotiation can be attributed to their perception of the behaviour and demeanour of trade unions and conciliators. Lastly, the study affirms the link between the mind-set and approaches of the actors and highlights its connection to the actions and behaviour of trade union and management representatives during their interactions as evident within the Nigerian context.

scholarly journals An Institutional Approach to Trade Union Density. The Case of Legal Origins and Political Ideology

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (49) ◽  
pp. 35-49
Author(s):  
Jacek Lewkowicz ◽  
Anna Lewczuk
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Terms Of Trade ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
Institutional Approach ◽  
Legal Origins ◽  
The Status

Abstract Which institutions may be important in terms of trade union density and how significant they are? Although the status of trade unions may be very different among states, unions are still a very meaningful component of labour markets. In this paper, we contribute to the debate about the institutions that may affect the outcome of trade unions in different legal systems. Firstly, we draw on the theoretical underpinnings of trade union activity and density. Then, we conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between trade union density in a particular country, country’s legal origins and government’s ideology. In this way, the paper enriches an underexploited niche in institutional research devoted to labour market issues.

Regional Differentiation in Trade Union Density

1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Van der Laan
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Regional Differentiation ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Locational Analysis ◽  
Regional Economic Analysis

In general, regional economic analysis of trade unions is particularly directed at the effects of labour unions, whereas the conditions and causal aspects which influence the presence of labour unions in regions are studied far less. In this paper an attempt is made to fill part of this gap in knowledge by means of an analysis of the causes of the regional differentiation in labour union membership in the Netherlands. A theoretical survey into the causes of variation in regional membership is reported on. Subsequently, the effects of the potential causes of this regional differentiation are analysed empirically. First, it was found that several potentially important aspects do not explain the regional variation in membership. Second, those aspects that were relevant can be reduced to two common factors. Third, it can be concluded that the rather low level of explanation of the regional differentiation suggests that present economic locational analysis should be supplemented by an approach in which the economic historical context is taken into account too. Regional differentiation in trade union membership can only fully be understood from a regional economic historical approach.

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