This work examines the responses of unions and workers to regional integration and restructuring in the automobile industry in North and Central America. The focus is on the automobile industry in Mexico, which, because of its size and importance, is viewed as a strategic sector of the Mexican economy and was the focal point of talks between the US, Canada and Mexico during negotiations on NAFTA. Focusing on the period from 1980, John P. Tuman examines the changes implemented by firms to promote export production, he explores reasons for the variation in labour responses to restructuring, and he discusses the prospects for cross-border organizing and co-operation among automobile workers in Canada, the US and Mexico.

This timely new study of worker representation presents powerful analysis of such issues as:

· trends in trade union membership;
· factors behind the decline of union membership;
· young workers and trade unionism;
· the law and union recognition;
· European influences on worker representation;
· non-union representation;
· trade unionism in the context of new forms of representation;
· enhancing the appeal of unions.

Representing Workers is one of the most broad-ranging studies of representation and is essential reading for anyone studying or working in employment relations.

This timely new study of worker representation presents powerful analysis of such issues as:

· trends in trade union membership;
· factors behind the decline of union membership;
· young workers and trade unionism;
· the law and union recognition;
· European influences on worker representation;
· non-union representation;
· trade unionism in the context of new forms of representation;
· enhancing the appeal of unions.

Representing Workers is one of the most broad-ranging studies of representation and is essential reading for anyone studying or working in employment relations.

The Handbook of Conflict Management cuts across theoretical perspectives, strategic models, and situational contexts as the first all-encompassing conflict management reference. A young field in both research and practice, this foundational text sets precedents for furthering academic study and real-world progress in managing diverse instances of conflict. It draws on more than 600 references to probe sources of conflict and to prescribe means of reducing tension in organizational, institutional, and community settings. Introducing core themes and issues into the dialogue, the handbook provides techniques to promote peaceful negotiation, cooperation, and consensus.

In this absorbing narrative, Barry E.C. Boothman traces the history of Abitibi Power & Paper Limited alongside the rise and fall of the newsprint industry and the advent of Canadian corporate capitalism. In the first half of the twentieth century, Abitibi was Canada's biggest manufacturer - an apparent success story after the Wall Street crash of 1929 and a company deemed "too big to fail" - but the company eventually ended up at the centre of the longest and most controversial bankruptcy in Canadian history. Moving from the frontier areas of northern Ontario to the heart of the continental economy, Corporate Cataclysm shows how competitive strategies, industrial organization, corporate finance, and law combined with the empire-building dreams of entrepreneurs and the concerns of politicians to generate an economic disaster. It then chronicles the disputes and intense strife that plagued Abitibi's fourteen-year receivership.

This collection examines the evolution of the philosophy and practice of human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR) over the twentieth century. By combining history, contemporary practice, and future trends, these well-known experts present both scholarly and practitioner perspectives. Drawing on in-depth interviews and surveys with HRM executives at leading corporations, the contributors explore key trends and issues facing global companies in such areas as equal opportunity, compensation practices, and expatriation programs. The book also takes an in-depth look at one particular player in the story - Industrial Relations Counselors, Inc., the first non-profit research and consulting organization dedicated to improved HRM/IR practices - which was founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1926, and has played a central role in the development of key labor legislation including the Social Security Act.

This comprehensive survey of continuity and change in trade unions looks at five primarily English-speaking countries: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The authors consider the recent re-examination by trade union movements of the basis of union organization and activity in the face of a harsher economic and political climate. One of the impetuses for this re-examination has been the recent history of unions in the USA. American models of renewal have inspired Australia, New Zealand and the UK, while Canada has undergone a cautious examination of the US model with an attempt to develop a distinctive approach. This book aims to provide a thorough grounding for informed discussion and debate about the position and place of trade unions in modern economies.

This book examines the commercialisation of domestic and care work through private agencies that organise transnational care arrangements by brokering migrant workers. The book focuses on the emergence of private for-profit home care agencies following the 2011 extension of the Free Movement of Workers to Eastern European Countries agreement in Switzerland. The agencies recruit migrant women from these countries and place them in private households for elderly care. This book explores how circular labour migration for these care workers is facilitated. In the form of a mobile ethnography, it traces their journey from Eastern European countries to Switzerland - from when care workers find employment and are recruited by agencies to when they arrive at their designated households. From the agencies' analytical standpoint, the book examines the recruitment and placement practices of the home care agencies and their role in facilitating migration. Brokering Labour Migration offers an understanding of new migration patterns and highlights fundamental changes in migration control with the extension of free movement of workers in Switzerland to lower-wage countries in Eastern Europe. It will be an invaluable resource for academics and scholars of geography, anthropology, sociology, and gender and migration.

Harry Van Arsdale (1905-1986) was a towering figure in the New York labor scene. After being initiated into the Local 3 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1925 and becoming its business manager in 1933, Van Arsdale turned the then corrupt and disorganized union into a force to be reckoned with. He became president of the New York City Central Labor Council in 1957, which put him in a position to become a greater influence for labor relations locally and nationally. As business manager and president of these organizations, Van Arsdale advocated and won shorter work days, in order to give more men a chance to work - especially important in the 1930s. He instituted paid vacation, paid holidays, annuity plans, and educational opportunities for union workers - novelties at that time - as well as scholarships for workers' children. His sincere commitment to improving the lives of American workers and their families made him a truly beloved figure. This fascinating memoir traces Van Arsdale's sixty-plus years as a union member and powerful labor figure, and provides colorful details of his many remarkable accomplishments.

After many years of indifferent decline, trade union membership is now being revitalised. Strategies known as union organizing are being used to recruit and re-energize unions around the globe. This book considers exactly how trade unions are working to do this and provides a much needed evaluation of these rebuilding strategies.
By comparing historical and contemporary case-studies to assess the impact of various organizing campaigns, Union Organizing assess the progress of unions across Europe and America. It raises key debates about the organizing culture and considers the impact of recent union recognition laws on employers and the government's Fairness at Work policy.

This book makes a major contribution to the debate within the UK and abroad on the reality of workplace unionism in an era of change. Drawing on examples of union renewal, the authors present an historical overview, and compare the UK experience with contrasting international examples. It presents both qualitative and quantitative research to provide new and comprehensive evidence on trade union strategies.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203167392

As the world economy is liberalized, and national economies become more intertwined, the national decision making of states is also increasingly interdependent, and it has become vital for non-governmental organizations to create an international agenda. This title is an important study of what makes such organizations successful on an international level. The focus is on trade unions, as a key international group of NGOs. It asks whether a global system can be designed to stimulate countries to observe a set of minimum or core standards. It explores three important questions: how have unions attempted to influence the debate on the inclusion of minumum labour standards in the WTO agreement?; what accounts for their success or lack of success?; and what conclusions, with respect to the effective behaviour of trade unions in the construction of international policy, can be drawn from these experiences? In exploring these questions the text looks at social clause debates within a number of international bodies: the ILO, OECD and the EU, and within two countries: the USA and India.

Trade union movements in many countries face uncertain futures. After three decades of extensive economic restructuring at both national and international levels, often accompanied by major legislative reforms, the way forward for unions is unclear. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, in most developed economies, union membership declined massively and union leaders and their members lost their former prominence and their place in the polity. Will trade unions be able to re-establish their past salience in the bargaining arena and in the polity? Or, given the uncertainties of internationalized economies and states, will the first decade of this new century see further declines in union strength and power? This book examines these and related questions by exploring the background, current roles and prospects of trade unions in six English-speaking countries.

Trade union movements in many countries face uncertain futures. After three decades of extensive economic restructuring at both national and international levels, often accompanied by major legislative reforms, the way forward for unions is unclear. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, in most developed economies, union membership declined massively and union leaders and their members lost their former prominence and their place in the polity. Will trade unions be able to re-establish their past salience in the bargaining arena and in the polity? Or, given the uncertainties of internationalized economies and states, will the first decade of this new century see further declines in union strength and power? This book examines these and related questions by exploring the background, current roles and prospects of trade unions in six English-speaking countries.

How can American unions survive in our increasingly globalized business environment? With the trend toward multinational corporations, free trade pacts, and dismantling import barriers, organized labor has been steadily losing ground in the United States. This book argues that to reverse this trend, U.S. unions must create ties with workers and unions in other countries, and include the ever-increasing number of immigrant workers in their ranks. And it calls for a shift toward "social movement unionism, " which would change unions' orientation from exclusively market-focused and more toward social issues and rights.

How can American unions survive in our increasingly globalized business environment? With the trend toward multinational corporations, free trade pacts, and dismantling import barriers, organized labor has been steadily losing ground in the United States. This book argues that to reverse this trend, U.S. unions must create ties with workers and unions in other countries, and include the ever-increasing number of immigrant workers in their ranks. And it calls for a shift toward "social movement unionism, " which would change unions' orientation from exclusively market-focused and more toward social issues and rights.

Many assume incorrectly that confrontations between baseballs players and management began in the 1960s when the Major League Baseball Players Association started showing signs of becoming a union to be reckoned with. (The tensions of the 1960s prompted the owners to form the Player Relations Committee to deal with them and in February 1968, the two groups negotiated the games first Basic Agreement.) The struggles between players and management to gain the upper hand did not, however, start there--the two groups have had numerous clashes since baseball began (as well as since the 1968 agreement). There have been various periods of conflict and peace throughout the century and before. This work traces the history of the relationship between players and management from baseball's early years to the new challenges and developing tensions that led to spring training lockouts instigated by the owners and to player strikes in 1972, 1981, 1985, and 1994. An important agreement in 1996 brought labor peace once again. The future of player-management relations is also covered.

In his original book on CyberUnions, Shostak presented a bold plan for unions to develop a more significant role in the 21st century by adopting four strategic aids -- futuristics, innovations, services, and traditions (F-I-S-T) -- knit together by cutting-edge InfoTech resources. The CyberUnion Handbook expands on the F-I-S-T model with practical, how-to information and advice on every aspect of using technology to advance Labor's interests. It looks at gains and setbacks in pioneering efforts to create CyberUnions, highlights relevant websites, and includes interviews with key CyberUnion advocates. The book also reviews overseas efforts for transferable lessons, and pays special attention to the AFL-CIO campaign to ensure Labor's advances in the use of InfoTech.

A study of the long-term decline of the labour movement in America, exploring the outlook for labour and unions in the 21st century. There are insights from contributors from a range of backgrounds - academic and non-academic, domestic and foreign, pro- and anti-union.

A study of the long-term decline of the labour movement in America, exploring the outlook for labour and unions in the 21st century. There are insights from contributors from a range of backgrounds - academic and non-academic, domestic and foreign, pro- and anti-union.

The pressures of globalization and diversity are increasingly requiring organizations to rethink their priorities and methods. In this collection, leading researchers examine the debates and developments on gender, diversity and democracy in trade unions in eleven countries.
Offering an authoritative basis for comparative analysis, this book is essential reading for researchers, teachers, trade unionists and students of industrial relations and equal opportunities, along with all those concerned with ensuring that modern organizations reflect and represent the needs and concerns of a diverse workforce.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203165756

In his original book on CyberUnions, Shostak presented a bold plan for unions to develop a more significant role in the 21st century by adopting four strategic aids -- futuristics, innovations, services, and traditions (F-I-S-T) -- knit together by cutting-edge InfoTech resources. The CyberUnion Handbook expands on the F-I-S-T model with practical, how-to information and advice on every aspect of using technology to advance Labor's interests. It looks at gains and setbacks in pioneering efforts to create CyberUnions, highlights relevant websites, and includes interviews with key CyberUnion advocates. The book also reviews overseas efforts for transferable lessons, and pays special attention to the AFL-CIO campaign to ensure Labor's advances in the use of InfoTech.

Mikhail Tomsky (1880-1936) was one of the most important and influential leaders of the early Soviet Union. This first English-language biography of Tomsky reveals his central role in all the key developments in early Soviet history, including the stormy debates over the role of unions in the self-proclaimed workers' state. Charters Wynn's compelling account illuminates how the charismatic Tomsky rose from an impoverished working-class background and years of tsarist prison and Siberian exile to become both a Politburo member and the head of the trade unions, where he helped shape Soviet domestic and foreign policy along generally moderate lines throughout the 1920s. His failed attempt to block Stalin's catastrophic adoption of forced collectivization would tragically make Tomsky a prime target in the Great Purges.

Revisiting Gramsci's Notebooks offers a rich collection of historical, philosophical, and political studies addressing the thought of Antonio Gramsci, one of the most significant intellectuals of the twentieth century. Based on thorough analyses of Gramsci's texts, these interdisciplinary investigations engage with ongoing debates in different fields of study. They are exciting evidence of the enduring capacity of Gramsci's thought to generate and nurture innovative inquiries across diverse themes. Gathering scholars from different continents, the volume represents a global network of Gramscian thinkers from early-career researchers to experienced scholars. Combining rigorous explication of the past with a strategic analysis of the present, these studies mobilise underexplored resources from the Gramscian toolbox to confront the actuality of our 'great and terrible' world. Contributors include: F. Antonini, A. Bernstein, D. Boothman, W. Buddharaksa, T. Chino, R. Ciavolella, C. Conelli, A. Crezegut, V. Cuppi, Y. Douet, A. Freeland, F. Frosini, L. Fusaro, R. Jackson, A. Loftus, S. Meret, S. Neubauer, A. Panichi, I. Pohn-Lauggas, R. Roccu, B. Settis, A. Showstack Sassoon, A. Suceska, P.D. Thomas, N. Vandeviver, M.N. Wroblewska.

Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win tells the fascinating true story of an individual radical organizer turned independent Chicago city council member, and her forty year struggle for justice in Chicago. Helen Shiller went from radical anti-war activist in Wisconsin, to a member of a collective of white allies of the Black Panther Party in Chicago, to an elected city council person who helped break the back of the racialized opposition to Harold Washington, Chicago's first Black mayor. Shiller participated, when few others did, in the historic fight against the gentrification of a unique economically and racially mixed Chicago community on the Northside. With insight into historic community organizing and political battles in Chicago from the 1970s through 2010, this book details numerous policy fights and conflicts in Chicago during this time, illuminating recurrent political themes and battles that remain relevant to this day. Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win is a compelling, insightful, must-read for all those struggling for a better world today.