Books and journals Case studies Expert Briefings Open Access
Advanced search

Search results

1 – 10 of over 19000
To view the access options for this content please click here
Book part
Publication date: 24 July 2020

The Future of Unions in the United States

Gayle Hamilton and Marick F. Masters

The future of unions hangs in the balance. Labor unions face enormous challenges to overcome decades of decline and diminishing power. The authors examine the current…

HTML
PDF (660 KB)
EPUB (48 KB)

Abstract

The future of unions hangs in the balance. Labor unions face enormous challenges to overcome decades of decline and diminishing power. The authors examine the current status of unions with an eye toward identifying pathways to rejuvenation. Our analysis focuses on what the authors know about the decline of unions, how its compares historically, and what avenues are available to unions to change. Pathways to growth with undoubtedly require breaking old molds, which have proven ineffective. Unions need to explore new models of representation to take advantage of a changing workforce with new employment relationships typified by the “gig economy.” The authors present an agenda for fruitful research and discuss the implications of a weakened labor movement on the well-being of society.

Details

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-730120200000038006
ISBN: 978-1-80043-076-1

Keywords

  • unions
  • labor
  • organized labor
  • labor relations
  • industrial relations
  • collective bargaining

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

Representation and consultation on health and safety in chemicals: An exploration of limits to the preferred model

David Walters and Theo Nichols

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of worker representation and consultation on occupational health and safety in the UK in a context in which…

HTML
PDF (141 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of worker representation and consultation on occupational health and safety in the UK in a context in which, following the 1977 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees (SRSC) Regulations 1977, recognised trade unions have the right to appoint health and safety representatives who have rights to representation and consultation and to access the training and facilities needed to support these activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The chemical industry is the chosen site for this enquiry, because, it offers some of the most propitious conditions in which to examine the operation of what has been the preferred model in UK health and safety regulation, namely those in which there are recognised trade unions and where there are likely to be systems and structures of industrial relations in place combined with arrangements for OHS management. Five establishments are examined.

Findings

The research suggests joint arrangements make for better safety outcomes and that there is a relation between management consultation on general issues and those of health and safety. Overall, though, management capacity and commitment pose considerable constraints to employee representation on health and safety. The SRSC regulations apply in all five cases but worker representation operated below the level to be expected from the regulations.

Practical implications

A stronger legislative steer on worker consultation and representation in respect of workplace health and safety is required.

Originality/value

Demonstrates that, even in an apparently propitious environment, legal requirements are not being implemented, and that management commitment and support are vital.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450610661225
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

  • Health and safety
  • Trade unions
  • Industrial relations
  • United Kingdom

Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 May 2019

Social representations of marketing work: advertising workers and social media

Robert Cluley and William Green

Informed by social representation theory, the study aims to explore how marketing workers represent their activities on social media.

Open Access
HTML
PDF (191 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

Informed by social representation theory, the study aims to explore how marketing workers represent their activities on social media.

Design/methodology/approach

A naturalistic data set of 17,553 messages posted on Twitter by advertising workers was collected. A sample of over 1,000 unique messages from this data set, incorporating all external links and images, was analysed inductively using structured thematic analysis.

Findings

Advertising workers represent marketing work as a series of fun yet constrained activities involving relationships with clients and colleagues. They engage in cognitive polyphasia by evaluating these productive differences in both a positive and negative light.

Research limitations/implications

The study marks a novel use of social representation theory and innovative social media analysis. Further research should explore these relations in greater depth by considering the networks that marketing workers create on social media and establish how, when and why marketing workers turn to social media in their everyday activities.

Practical implications

Marketing workers choose to represent aspects of their work to one another, using social media. Marketing managers should support such activities and consider social media as a way to understand the lives and experiences of marketing workers.

Originality/value

Marketing researchers have embraced digital media as a route to understanding consumers. This study demonstrates the value of analysing digital media to develop an understanding of marketing work. It sheds new light on the ways marketing workers create social relationships and enables marketing managers to understand and observe the social aspects of effective marketing.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2016-0682
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Social representation theory
  • Social media
  • Advertising agencies
  • Marketing work
  • Thematic analysis
  • Marketing workers

To view the access options for this content please click here
Book part
Publication date: 4 July 2003

COMPANY UNIONS, WAGES, AND WORK HOURS

John Pencavel

The topic of company unions – employee associations sponsored and organized by management – has generated strong feelings. For many years, conventional labor unions have…

HTML
PDF (181 KB)

Abstract

The topic of company unions – employee associations sponsored and organized by management – has generated strong feelings. For many years, conventional labor unions have been vehemently opposed to worker representation through company unions.1 Conventional labor unions have viewed company unions as devices by management to forestall or thwart independent unionism (i.e. unions organized by workers).2 According to this interpretation, a company union would give the appearance of providing employees with representation and induce workers to temper their demands for genuine collective bargaining. Thus, at their Annual Convention of 1919, the American Federation of Labor described company unions as “…a delusion and a snare, set up by the companies for the express purpose of deluding the workers into the belief that they have some protection and thus have no need for trade union organization: therefore be it Resolved, That we disapprove and condemn all such company unions and advise our membership to have nothing to do with them…” (Quoted in Douglas, 1919, p. 103).

Details

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-6186(03)12002-1
ISBN: 978-0-76231-028-9

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Older workers’ representation and age-based stereotype threats in the workplace

Eduardo Oliveira and Carlos Cabral-Cardoso

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which negative age-based metastereotypes mediate the relationship between the representation of older workers and two…

HTML
PDF (273 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which negative age-based metastereotypes mediate the relationship between the representation of older workers and two forms of stereotype threat in the workplace: own-reputation and group-reputation. Adopting a social identity perspective, this paper also explores whether age diversity beliefs moderate the relationship between negative age-based metastereotypes and stereotype threats.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional design was adopted with bootstrapped mediation and moderation analyses. The data were collected from 567 older workers working in 15 manufacturing companies.

Findings

The analyses provide support for partial mediation and for a moderation effect of age diversity beliefs in the relationship between negative age-based metastereotypes and own-reputation threat. The results hold while controlling for age, objective organizational age diversity, and organizational tenure.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional nature and the need for further work regarding older workers’ metastereotypes about middle-aged workers.

Practical implications

For stereotype threat interventions to be effective they must identify beforehand the target and the source of the threat. Moreover, interventions should aim for the development of a sense of identity on the organization as it may pave the way for members of different age groups to build bonds and for intergenerational boundaries to be blurred.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by showing the importance of negative age-based metastereotypes in workplace age dynamics. It also provides further support for a multi-threat approach to the experience of age-based stereotype threats in the workplace.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2016-0085
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

  • Older workers’ representation
  • Negative age-based metastereotypes
  • Age-based stereotype threats
  • Age diversity beliefs

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 1 January 1983

Democratic Enterprise: A Policy Proposal for the Labour Movement

R.G.B. Fyffe

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of…

HTML
PDF (14.9 MB)

Abstract

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 3 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/eb012945
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

  • Employees
  • Trade unions
  • Labour parties
  • Employee ownership
  • Distribution of wealth
  • Democracy
  • Industrial democracy
  • Social change
  • Social policy

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2010

How much would US union membership increase under a policy of non‐exclusive representation?

Mark Harcourt and Helen Lam

In light of the low‐union density and a huge representation gap in the US representation system. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the system…

HTML
PDF (72 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

In light of the low‐union density and a huge representation gap in the US representation system. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the system under majority rule and to provide some empirical evidence on how much union membership would increase in the USA if a policy of non‐exclusive representation, as adopted in New Zealand, are to be implemented.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample for the study consists of 227 New Zealand organizations, employing over 180,000 workers. Logistic regression is used for the analysis with the dichotomous dependent variable indicating whether there is majority union support.

Findings

If the USA allowed and supported minority unionism, union membership could increase by 30 percent or more. Workers in smaller, private‐sector organizations outside healthcare, education, and manufacturing are most disadvantaged by the majority‐rule system.

Practical implications

Given that many workers' needs for representation have not been addressed by the current US majority rule system, consideration of minority representation to enhance representation effectiveness and understanding its implications are of critical importance, especially for a democratic society.

Originality/value

The paper offers empirical data on the implications of a change of the US representation system and proposes three options for incorporating minority representation.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451011002789
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

  • Trade unions
  • Industrial relations
  • United States of America

To view the access options for this content please click here
Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Chinese Unions: An Alice in Wonderland

David Metcalf and Jianwei Li

China has, apparently, more trade union members than the rest of the world put together, but the unions are subservient to the Party-state. The theme of the paper is the…

HTML
PDF (363 KB)

Abstract

China has, apparently, more trade union members than the rest of the world put together, but the unions are subservient to the Party-state. The theme of the paper is the gap between rhetoric and reality. Issues analysed include union structure, membership, representation, and the interaction between unions and the Party-state. We suggest that Chinese unions inhabit an Alice in Wonderland dream world and that they are virtually impotent when it comes to representing workers. Because the Party-state recognises that such frailty may lead to instability it has passed new laws promoting collective contracts and established new tripartite institutions to mediate and arbitrate disputes. While such laws are welcome they are largely hollow: collective contracts are very different from collective bargaining and the incidence of cases dealt with by the tripartite institutions is tiny. Much supporting evidence is presented drawing on detailed case studies undertaken in Hainan Province (the largest and one of the oldest special economic zones) in 2004 and 2005. The need for more effective representation is appreciated by some All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) officials, but it seems a long way off, so unions in China will continue to echo the White Queen: “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today” and, alas, tomorrow never comes.

Details

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-6186(06)15005-2
ISBN: 978-1-84950-470-6

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 12 February 2020

Careless whispers: confidentiality and board-level worker representatives

Valentina Franca and Michael Doherty

The article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker…

HTML
PDF (162 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker participation mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to explore the implications of confidentiality of board-level information for effective worker participation. The main argument is that if board-level worker representatives are excessively constrained by confidentiality provisions, their capacity to work effectively is brought into question.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research was undertaken on a sample of 12 public limited companies in Slovenia. In each company, three interviews were conducted: with the CEO or board member, with a board-level worker representative and with a works councilor, who was not a board-level worker representative (36 interviews in total). Each of these interviewees has a particular role, and interest, in handling confidential information. Thus, a method of triangulation by groups was employed. The interviews were conducted at the company premises during October and November 2017. The results were analysed by the content analysis method.

Findings

This research confirms that in the majority of companies, nearly all of the material and information discussed by the board is deemed to be ‘confidential’. Consequently, communication between board-level worker representatives and the works council is rendered difficult, if not impossible. The results indicate an urgent need to redefine the concept of confidentiality and to reinforce the level of communication between management boards and works councils.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to one country, which, by no means, is fatal, as international comparisons, although of greater breadth, often lose some depth of analysis (especially, for example, where there are differences in legal contexts). Although the issues discussed in the paper are of relevance to all those with an interest in worker participation mechanisms, they cannot be generalised mostly due to national specificities.

Originality/value

The question of confidentiality as between the board, board-level worker representatives, works councils, trade unions and other form of worker representation, despite its importance, has been raised quite rarely in research. In this research, three groups of stakeholders (CEO/board member, board-level workers representative and works council members) have been covered, with the aim to extend the understanding of how confidentiality obligations impact relationships between these.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 42 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2019-0146
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

  • Confidentiality
  • Boards
  • Board-level worker representatives
  • Works council
  • Worker participation

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 1 February 1999

Works councils and teamwork in a German car plant

Thomas Murakami

The paper contributes to the discussion on works councils and teamwork in the German auto industry. General Motors’ Opel plant in Germany has been chosen to study works…

HTML
PDF (130 KB)

Abstract

The paper contributes to the discussion on works councils and teamwork in the German auto industry. General Motors’ Opel plant in Germany has been chosen to study works councils’ participation in the process of introducing teamwork, and the effects of teamwork on workers’ representation on the shopfloor. The paper discusses the “dual structure” of works councils and union representatives, and will examine their role during the introduction of teamwork and relationship to their elected team spokespersons. The two key findings are: first, both levels of workers’ representation have contributed to the successful introduction of workplace changes and second, team spokespersons can be seen as a third level of workers’ representation.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01425459910252975
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

  • Germany
  • Lean production
  • Motor industry
  • Teamwork
  • Works councils

Access
Only content I have access to
Only Open Access
Year
  • Last week (39)
  • Last month (160)
  • Last 3 months (530)
  • Last 6 months (965)
  • Last 12 months (1723)
  • All dates (19336)
Content type
  • Article (14636)
  • Book part (3901)
  • Earlycite article (588)
  • Case study (110)
  • Expert briefing (97)
  • Executive summary (4)
1 – 10 of over 19000
Emerald Publishing
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Services

  • Authors Opens in new window
  • Editors Opens in new window
  • Librarians Opens in new window
  • Researchers Opens in new window
  • Reviewers Opens in new window

About

  • About Emerald Opens in new window
  • Working for Emerald Opens in new window
  • Contact us Opens in new window
  • Publication sitemap

Policies and information

  • Privacy notice
  • Site policies
  • Modern Slavery Act Opens in new window
  • Chair of Trustees governance statement Opens in new window
  • COVID-19 policy Opens in new window
Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

  • Something didn’t work…

    Report bugs here

  • All feedback is valuable

    Please share your general feedback

  • Member of Emerald Engage?

    You can join in the discussion by joining the community or logging in here.
    You can also find out more about Emerald Engage.

Join us on our journey

  • Platform update page

    Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

  • Questions & More Information

    Answers to the most commonly asked questions here