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Article
Publication date: 14 April 2020

Ginni Chawla, Tripti Singh and Rupali Singh

Unions and organizations interests are often seen to be in competition. However, union-voice hypothesis suggests that unions can provide a distinctive mechanism to lower…

Abstract

Purpose

Unions and organizations interests are often seen to be in competition. However, union-voice hypothesis suggests that unions can provide a distinctive mechanism to lower organizational costs by reducing exit behavior, absence from work and conflict levels at work. This study aims to look at union participation as a form of voice which is affected by a number of antecedents and in turn has an effect upon the workers performance (i.e. worker behavior effectiveness [WBE]) in an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on data from 340 permanent labors working in 19 manufacturing units across different regions of India to explore both the antecedents and outcomes of union participation. Hypotheses are tested using mediation analysis.

Findings

Results indicate statistically significant relationships between union participation, its antecedents and WBE, with union participation partially influencing the relationship between the constructs.

Originality/value

Uniqueness of the study lies in its findings which report positive relationship among union participation, its antecedents and behavior effectiveness. Contrary to the traditional belief that unions are detrimental to the health of any organization, the study suggests that workers decision to join and participate in unions should be viewed positively because only if a person is willing to stay with the organization, he/she seeks to resolve the issues/problems through collective mechanism of union participation and which in turn leads to enhanced performance, reduced absenteeism at the workplace.

Details

Journal of Indian Business Research, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4195

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2012

Julie Sadler

The purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of high and low‐level local union leaders on various forms of member participation.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of high and low‐level local union leaders on various forms of member participation.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews and surveys of the leaders and members of an Educators Association operating in the USA were used to explore these complex relationships. Multiple regression, hierarchical regression, and path analyses were used to test direct and indirect relationship and the amount of variance explained by participatory leadership.

Findings

Survey results indicate that a member's perception of the participatory style of the local union president positively related to, and explained a significant amount of additional variance in, union activities that require moderate and high levels of effort. No support was found for the workplace representative's direct relationship with various measures of member participation. The indirect effects of the union president's and the workplace representatives’ participatory style on union involvement highlight the importance of various union leadership roles on developing various union attitudes.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include the cross‐sectional nature of the study, common method bias, and a small sample size (N=113).

Practical implications

Results of the study highlight the importance of the union president in fostering union attitudes and certain forms of union participation. The findings suggest areas for leadership development and training opportunities of union officials.

Originality/value

Unique elements of the study include an exploration of multiple leadership roles on union attitudes and various forms of union participation.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 33 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2012

Gregor Gall and Jack Fiorito

The aim of this paper is to give a critique of the extant literature on union commitment and participation in order to develop remedies to identified weaknesses

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to give a critique of the extant literature on union commitment and participation in order to develop remedies to identified weaknesses

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a critical assessment of extant literature.

Findings

A number of critical deficiencies exist in the literature to which remedies are proposed.

Research limitations/implications

The remedies need testing through empirical research.

Practical implications

Future research needs to have different research foci and questions.

Social implications

With a reorientation of future research on union commitment, participation and leadership, unions may be better able to benefit from academic research in the area.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that a reorientation of future research on union commitment, participation and leadership will allow more incisive and more robust contributions to be made to understanding unions as complex social organisms.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 33 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Ginni Chawla, Tripti Singh, Rupali Singh and Sonal Agarwal

Viewed in the context of liberalization, privatization and globalization, the socio-economic and legal environment facing the unions have changed, throwing them into clutches of…

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Abstract

Purpose

Viewed in the context of liberalization, privatization and globalization, the socio-economic and legal environment facing the unions have changed, throwing them into clutches of adversity and destitution. The purpose of this paper is to identify the reasons (i.e. antecedents) behind workers’ participation in union activities (such as strikes, rallies, demonstrations) in today’s scenario, and to understand how these participation tactics influence workers’ performance (i.e. worker behavior effectiveness) at work.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of published sources is drawn on, including quantitative, survey based and qualitative, case-study and other evidence for building the conceptual review.

Findings

The investigation clearly indicates that contemporary challenges facing unions in the present scenario prompt industrial actions. Only specific and genuine grievances and justifiable demands motivate workers to form a strong emotional attachment to their unions and engage in union participation activities such as strike activity (Darlington, 2006; Bean and Stoney, 1986).

Originality/value

Contrary to the traditional view, which sights unions as detrimental to worker productivity, turnover, and attendance at work (via restrictive work rules, featherbedding and disruptive strikes or other adversarial tactics), the investigation, through extensive review of literature proposes that unions positively influence worker behavior at work. The model, however, requires empirical testing to validate the proposed relationships.

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2019

Min Li, Wenyuan Huang, Chunyang Zhang and Zhengxi Yang

The purpose of this paper is to draw on triadic reciprocal determinism and social exchange theory to examine how “induced-type” and “compulsory-type” union participation influence…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw on triadic reciprocal determinism and social exchange theory to examine how “induced-type” and “compulsory-type” union participation influence union commitment and job involvement, and how union participation in the west differs from that in China. It also examines whether the role of both organizational justice and employee participation climate (EPC) functions in the Chinese context.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross-sectional data are collected from 694 employees in 46 non-publicly owned enterprises, both Chinese and foreign, in the Pearl River Delta region of China. A multi-level moderated mediation test is used to examine the model of this research.

Findings

Union participation is positively related to organizational justice, union commitment and job involvement. In addition, organizational justice acts as the mediator among union participation, union commitment and job involvement. Specifically, the mediating role of organizational justice between union participation and union commitment, and between union participation and job involvement, is stronger in high-EPC contexts than low-EPC contexts.

Originality/value

Instead of examining the impacts of attitudes on union participation, as per most studies in the western context, this research examines the impacts of union participation in the Chinese context on attitudes, including union commitment and job involvement. It also reveals the role of both organizational justice and EPC in the process through which union participation influences union commitment and job involvement.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 41 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 March 2015

Veronica Terriquez

This research examines how labor union involvement shapes the civic participation of low-wage Latino immigrant workers.

Abstract

Purpose

This research examines how labor union involvement shapes the civic participation of low-wage Latino immigrant workers.

Methodology/approach

Drawing on survey and semi-structured interview data gathered from a Los Angeles janitors’ labor union, I examine whether or not and how Latino immigrants apply their union experience to involvement in their children’s schools.

Findings

Results indicate that the union’s targeted member mobilization efforts produce unequal participation in union activities among immigrant workers, fostering civic and leadership skills among some and not others. At the same time, immigrant workers who do become involved in their union are then able to draw on their labor organizing and advocacy experience to address issues and concerns at their children’s schools. For some, worksite activism functions as a catalyst for newfound civic engagement; for other immigrant workers with prior civic experience in their country origin or in the United States, union involvement enhances their leadership capacity.

Originality/value

This empirical investigation shows how the experience of mobilizing for protests and participating in worksite campaigns allows Latino immigrant union members to overcome what are typically considered barriers to civic participation – that is, limited formal education, low occupational status, and limited English language skills. This study therefore suggests that labor union participation can have long-term effects on immigrants well beyond the benefits of a union contract.

Details

Immigration and Work
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-632-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Maurizio Ambrosini, Deborah De Luca and Sonia Pozzi

Italian trade unions have long since promoted the defense and inclusion of immigrant workers through the promotion, within their organizations, of specific services for immigrants…

Abstract

Italian trade unions have long since promoted the defense and inclusion of immigrant workers through the promotion, within their organizations, of specific services for immigrants providing information, guidance, and bureaucratic assistance, thus enhancing the growth of immigrant members within the unions. However, only recently unions have started to promote the direct participation of immigrants in their organization. This chapter focuses on the chances of mobility and career of immigrant workers offered by unions, starting from the role of union delegate. The analysis is based on empirical research, conducted in Lombardy between 2011 and 2013, on Cgil and Cisl, the two major Italian unions. The attention to the active participation of foreign workers within the organization is still low and not widespread, but mostly limited to categories with higher presence of immigrant workers and where the board is ready to grab the opportunities offered by the appointment of immigrant unionists and to guarantee them equal chances of union career. This situation, in our opinion, promotes immigrants’ acquisition of union roles and credibility, thus paving the way of internal mobility and career opportunities in the union.

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2020

Wenyuan Huang, Chuqin Yuan, Jie Shen and Min Li

This study aims to reveal the mechanism through which union commitment influences job performance in China, focusing on the mediating role of employee participation and the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to reveal the mechanism through which union commitment influences job performance in China, focusing on the mediating role of employee participation and the moderating role of affective commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a cross-sectional design was employed to collect data from 596 union members in 33 unionized enterprises in China's Pearl River Delta region.

Findings

The results demonstrate that union commitment is positively related to both employee participation and job performance. Moreover, employee participation mediates the positive relationship between union commitment and job performance. In addition, affective commitment strengthens the relationship between union commitment and employee participation and the mediating effect of employee participation.

Practical implications

This study indirectly identifies the impact of a union on organizational performance from an individual-level perspective. It also provides new evidence for union construction in order to obtain support from corporate executives in China.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution to the literature by proposing and examining the mediating role of employee participation and the moderating role of affective commitment in the underlying mechanism between union commitment and job performance.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 50 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2018

Enhua Hu, Maolong Zhang, Hongmei Shan, Long Zhang and Yaqing Yue

The purpose of this paper is to offer empirical evidence on whether and how the work experiences of employees in China influence their union-related attitudes and behaviours.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer empirical evidence on whether and how the work experiences of employees in China influence their union-related attitudes and behaviours.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed a mediated moderation model to examine how job satisfaction and labour relations climate interactively affect union participation and whether union commitment mediates the interactive effects. A total of 585 employees from enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian province of China were surveyed to verify the model.

Findings

Job satisfaction was negatively related to union participation and union commitment. Labour relations climate moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and union participation; the relationship was negative and stronger when employees perceived an adverse, rather than a favourable, labour relations climate. Further, the interactive effect of job satisfaction and labour relations climate on union participation was partly mediated by union commitment.

Originality/value

By empirically examining employees’ attitudes and behaviours towards unions in the Chinese context, this study confirms that unions could provide employees with alternative work resources to cope with job dissatisfaction, even in a country where unions play a “transmission belt” role between employees and employers. This study adds value to the existing base of knowledge on union practice and labour relations construction, both inside and outside of China.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 December 2016

Vidu Badigannavar

The labor regulatory framework in India provides a conducive environment for social dialogue and collective participation in the organizational decision-making process (Venkata…

Abstract

The labor regulatory framework in India provides a conducive environment for social dialogue and collective participation in the organizational decision-making process (Venkata Ratnam, 2009). Using data from a survey of workplace union representatives in the federal state of Maharashtra, India, this paper examines union experiences of social dialogue and collective participation in public services, private manufacturing, and private services sector. Findings indicate that collective worker participation and voice is at best modest in the public services but weak in the private manufacturing and private services. There is evidence of growing employer hostility to unions and employer refusal to engage in a meaningful social dialogue with unions. These findings are discussed within the political economy framework of employment relations in India examining the role of the state and judiciary in employment relations and, the links between political parties and trade unions in India.

Details

Employee Voice in Emerging Economies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-240-8

Keywords

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