Growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has focused attention on the relationship between businesses and key stakeholders, such as NGOs and local communities. Curiously, however, commentators on CSR rarely discuss the role of trade unions, while commentators on employment relations seldom engage with CSR. This situation is all the more remarkable since unions are a critically important social actor and have traditionally played a prominent role in defending the interests of one key stakeholder in the company, the employee. Written by dedicated experts in their field, this book addresses a key gap in the literature on both CSR and employment relations, namely trade union policies towards CSR, as well as union engagement with particular CSR initiatives and the challenges they face in doing so. The research covers eleven European countries which, when taken together, constitute a representative sample of industrial relations structures across the continent. This book will be essential reading for scholars, students and practitioners of international business, employment relations, public policy and CSR. Its foreword is written by Philippe Pochet and Maria Jepsen, Directors of the European Trade Union Institute in Brussels.

A key factor in Korea's economic success is the nature of industrial relations in Korean business and industry. Joo-Yeon Jeong presents a comprehensive survey of the current state of industrial relations in Korea. He shows how union membership has changed over recent decades, and how the focus of bargaining has widened from purely financial considerations to include a much wider range of issues including, principally, issues related to job security. In addition, the book considers the role of government in shaping the legal and institutional environment, and of employers, who have taken a more aggressive role towards unions since the mid-1990s.

Turbulence--rapid and sometimes tumultuous changes--has characterized the labor markets of the 1970's and 1980's. Turbulent competitive conditions have cut sharply into profits and have forced downsizings and radical readjustments in America's workplaces. Workplace turbulence has resulted in lost jobs, declining incomes, and falling productivity for American labor. From the perspectives of business and labor, turbulence and its consequences is the key human resources issue for the last part of the twentieth century. In Turbulence in the American Workplace, a distinguished group of experts forcefully and convincingly argue that the human resources capacity of the private sector is the first line of defense against turbulence and is of equal importance to public sector education and training programs. The authors--including Kathleen Christensen, Patricia M. Flynn, Douglas T. Hall, Harry C. Katz, Jeffrey H. Keefe, Christopher J. Ruhm, Andrew M. Sum, and Michael Useem--effectively demonstrate how global competition, deregulation, and technological change are creating hard choices for employers that will alter both the living standards of workers and the performance of American industry in the coming decades. This illuminating work will be of significant value to business school faculty, corporate strategic planners, and general managers, as well as students and professionals interested in the areas of public policy, industrial relations, education, and labor studies.

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.

One of the best-known and most-quoted books ever written on labor unions is "What Do Unions Do?" by Richard Freeman and James Medoff. Published in 1984, the book proved to be a landmark because it provided the most comprehensive and statistically sophisticated empirical portrait of the economic and socio-political effects of unions, and a provocative conclusion that unions are on balance beneficial for the economy and society.

The present volume represents a twentieth-anniversary retrospective and evaluation of What Do Unions Do? The objectives are threefold: to evaluate and critique the theory, evidence, and conclusions of Freeman and Medoff; to provide a comprehensive update of the theoretical and empirical literature on unions since the publication of their book; and to offer a balanced assessment and critique of the effects of unions on the economy and society. Toward this end, internationally recognized representatives of labor and management cover the gamut of subjects related to unions.

Topics covered include the economic theory of unions; the history of economic thought on unions; the effect of unions on wages, benefits, capital investment, productivity, income inequality, dispute resolution, and job satisfaction; the performance of unions in an international perspective; the reasons for the decline of unions; and the future of unions. The volume concludes with a chapter by Richard Freeman in which he assesses the arguments and evidence presented in the other chapters and presents his evaluation of how "What Do Unions Do?" stands up in the light of twenty years of additional experience and research. This highly readable volume is a state-of-the-art survey by internationally recognized experts on the effects and future of labor unions. It will be the benchmark for years to come.

Today, 95 percent of all labor contracts in the United States provide for arbitration. Indispensable to sound contract management, arbitration orchestrates the resolution of disputes by a neutral third party. Since parties who reach the process of arbitration are no longer interested in compromise or mutual accommodation, arbitrators, unlike mediators, do not have to work out arguments or propose possible solutions. They simply hear evidence and make a decision based on the facts as presented - without being bound by rules of evidence or precedents. For both sides, the key to a successful outcome lies in their advocates' ability to present and document their case. Providing guidance for labor and management advocates, this resource guide contains a practical analysis of arbitration from the participant side with a view to avoiding the problems and pitfalls of the process. Written for those who do not deal with the intricacies of arbitration on a day-to-day basis yet have a responsibility to their company should such situations arise, it begins with the very basics of the arbitration concept, including discipline and discharge procedures. It then provides detailed guidelines for presenting an organization's position effectively, and it discusses important principles and practices every advocate should know. Additional topics include grievance procedure time limits; methods for researching and selecting the arbitrator; and recommendations regarding witness conduct. Practices of the actual arbitration such as objections, admissible evidence and credibility of evidence are also discussed. Extensive references to pertinent statutes and case law round out this informative guide.

Since 1996 a growing number of European employees have access to a European works council (EWC), a transnational employee body designed to complement national forms of labour representation . This volume brings together a hep hive of contributors who present valuable new insights into how employee representatives from different European countries perform their jobs as members of European Works Councils in an attempt to develop some sense of a common European labour identity

The transnational character of the EWC makes it an ideal microscopic structure through which the wider discourse surrounding identity a " especially when associated with globalization, Europeanization, and mobility a " can occur. a ~Towards a European Labour Identitya (TM) examines not only the workings of the EWCs, utilising individual case studies, but also analyses and asses the link with the broader discussions on European identity as well as European trade union co-ordination and solidarity.

In what will be essential reading for all industrial relations scholars, Gill Kirton considers the social construction of women's trade union participation in the context of male dominated trade unions. Exploring the making and progress of women's trade union careers, this book locates the issues within the context of their experiences of three interlocking social institutions - the union, work and family. The book examines how and why women embark on trade union careers, the social processes which shape women's gender and union identities and the combined influences of union/work/family contexts on the trajectory of women's union careers. Additionally, the book offers a historical overview of the development of women's trade union education and separate organizing, with original analysis and historical data.

Breaking new ground and drawing on contributions from the leading academics in the field, this volume in the Global HRM Series specifically focuses on industrial relations. The text is divided into two distinct, but overlapping sections, namely regional variations in global industrial relations systems and contemporary themes in global industrial relations. Specifically, the text is intended to provide an overview of the industrial relations systems of nine regions (North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and India). Having examined the industrial relations systems of these regions the second section of the book examines some overarching themes in global industrial relations. Combining both systems and thematic issues, this important new text will be invaluable reading for anyone studying or interested in global industrial relations.

Trade Unions and Democracy explores the role of trade unions as products of, and agents for, democracy. As civil society agents, unions may promote democracy within the wider society, especially in the case of authoritarian regimes or other rigid political systems, by acting as watchdogs and protecting hard-won democratic gains.

Established democratic institutions in many advanced societies are facing new challenges. The problem with using trade unions for this purpose is that they remain locked in a cycle of political marginalization and decline. Beyond this, there are, ironically, serious questions about whether unions themselves internally function as democracies. Certainly there are tensions between rank and file membership and an authoritarian leadership, with this infighting having possible effects on strategic deals or alliances and member accountability and actions. On the other hand, trade unions continue to represent a significant component of society within most industrialized countries, and in many case, they have a demonstrated capacity for working with other elements of civil society. Looking forward, trade unions may be able to play a vital role in channeling and focusing spontaneous popular upsurges. In the process, they may revitalize themselves through use of greater internal democracy and become geared toward more diverse constituencies. The question is, will they fulfill this promise or continue to suffer from internal breakups and external breakdowns? Can trade unions save themselves and democracy, or will both deteriorate in time?

Trade Unions and Democracy brings together a distinguished panel of leading and emerging scholars in the field and provides a critical assessment of the current role of trade unions in society. It explores their capacity to affect political policies to ensure greater accountability and fairness. It also explores the nature of and extent to which internal representative democracy actually operates within trade unions themselves.

Mark Harcourt is a professor in the Department of Strategic Management and Leadership at Waikato University in New Zealand.

In recent years, New Yorkers have been surprised to see workers they had taken for grantedOCoMexicans in greengroceries, West African supermarket deliverymen and South Asian limousine driversOCostriking, picketing, and seeking support for better working conditions. Suddenly, businesses in New York and the nation had changed and were now dependent upon low-paid immigrants to fill the entry-level jobs that few native-born Americans would take. "Immigrants, Unions, and the New U.S. Labor Market" tells the story of these workers' struggle for living wages, humane working conditions, and the respect due to all people. It describes how they found the courage to organize labor actions at a time when most laborers have become quiescent and while most labor unions were ignoring them. Showing how unions can learn from the example of these laborers, and demonstrating the importance of solidarity beyond the workplace, Immanuel Ness offers a telling look into the lives of some of America's newest immigrants."

The world is undergoing enormous change involving politics, the economy and society, however the position and place of the state and the significance of state policy in this process is heavily contested. "Globalisation, State and Labour "presents a timely opportunity to review and re-assess the modern state in regard to labor.
Using major studies from four countries (UK, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand) the contributors to this volume challenge many preconceptions regarding globalization and labor organization including the notions that the state is being marginalized by the processes of globalization and trade unions are becoming irrelevant. The essays, written by leading researchers in the area, develop a new theoretical framework which puts work, workers and their organizations at the heart of analyzing state restructuring.
This book is an important corrective to much recent work on work, employment and restructuring and the role of organized labor. Combining a new theoretical approach with comparative analysis this book will be of vital interest to anyone concerned with globalization debate, the future of the state and organized labor.

Breaking new ground and drawing on contributions from the leading academics in the field, this notable volume focuses specifically on industrial relations. Informative and revealing, the text provides an overview of the industrial relations systems of nine regions (North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and India) and is divided into two distinct sections covering:

• regional variations in global industrial relations systems
• contemporary themes in global industrial relations.

Combining both systems and thematic issues, this important new text is invaluable reading for postgraduates and professionals in the fields of human resources management, industrial relations and business and management as well as anyone studying or interested in the issues surrounding global industrial relations.

'Work hard, have fun, make history' proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers' desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers' every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour's flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner 'we are not robots', employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon's empire collapses?

There is perhaps no area of British life where attitudes are more strongly influenced by shared traditions and past experiences than the trade union movement; the memory of the working-class movements is a long one. It is therefore all the more important in the light of recent events to examine the origins and development of trade-union organization over the decades if we are to understand the unions of today, which have emerged as one of the most crucial and strongest elements in the economy.
This book is the product of twenty years detailed research and general reflection on the course of trade-union development, and ranges over the whole field of British trade-union history, from the early craft societies to the structure of modern trade unionism. It begins by illuminating the problems associated with researching and writing in this field, and goes on to trace the main trends of trade-union development, linking these with modern trade-union problems.
Particular attention is paid to some of the important aspects of this history the Owenite period, the so-called New Model unions, the origins of the Trades Union Congress, and more recent changes in trade-union organization. These themes are woven into a broad study which includes detailed investigation of individual trade unions (particularly the printing unions, and also an early employers association) with a general review of the whole movement.
Trade-union history is closely bound up with social conditions, and Professor Musson also examines a number of such related aspects as the struggle for a free press, the origins of the co-operative movement and the early factory system. This classic book was first published in1974.

Trade unions in Europe are currently facing a series of challenges that stem from changes to regulatory and production regimes implemented by the state and employers, in order to compete in an increasingly internationalized economy. In response to these challenges, trade union movements have been dramatically restructuring; long-standing principles of organization have been jettisoned in an attempt to develop new structures. Central to this process of structural adaptation are the mergers of trade unions. This informative book focuses on the merger process in Britain and Germany and, uniquely, it reviews the wider implications of these developments - particularly for North America. As well as addressing the reasons for mergers, the book also examines the process whereby mergers are concluded, investigates the consequences, and analyses the costs and benefits of the post-merger organisation. Drawing on interviews conducted with senior policy-makers engaged in merger processes, this book explores the extent of internal union reform brought about by the merger process, and also identifies the implications of this reform for trade unions world-wide. Structured in distinct sections, this book covers topic such as: what distinguishes the British and German systems? trade union structures pre-merger issues settling the terms of the mergers post-merger developments. This book forms part of the Routledge Research in Employment Relations series featuring works of high academic merit drawn from a wide range of academic studies in the social sciences. It is a valuable resource for postgraduate students studying business and management, industrial employee relations, and trade unions.

Can private sector unions survive in Great Britain?
How can unions respond to the challenges posted by performace-related pay, public-private partnerships and the internet?
What lessons can be learned from trade unions' experience in Germany and the US?
"Trade Unions: Resurgence or Decline?" is the third book in the innovative "Trade Unions in Britain" series. Featuring substantial and original research, this book takes a hard disciplinary approach--economics, organizational theory, history and social psychology--to offer readers a comprehensive analysis of unions' prospects in the new millenium. Case studies deal with such topical issues such as unions and the gender pay gap, the private finance initiative, performance-related pay and the unions' use of the internet.
Written by many of the leading scholars on British unions, this book highlights union prospects--survival or resurgence?--and has important policy implications for all parties to industrial relations: unions, employers and government.

U.S. labor leaders are constantly developing new programs to revive the union movement. What happens when these plans collide with the daily lives of front-line union staff and members? This book examines the often conflicting interests of key players in the trenches of a national effort to bring back the U.S. labor movement.Brutally honest, funny, and never dull, this anthropological ethnography shows the daily struggles of union members today to bring about positive change and hold together their urban labor union in an era of globalization, outsourcing, and deindustrialization.The authors, a union activist and an anthropologist respectively, pair up to offer insider views of labor unions "and" of how anthropological fieldwork is done. Explaining, coaching, and warning Paul of hazards, Suzan, the communications director for the local union, provides inside views and details of day-to-day interactions. Paul, the anthropologist, provides outside analytical views that relate Suzan's experiences and his own observations to the wider view anthropology offers through the lenses of ethnography, holism, and comparativism. The result is a story of one dynamic union local, one anthropological study, and the lit fuse that connects them until the end.

Examining the traditionally predominant role of the state in shaping employment patterns and social policy in France, French Industrial Relations in the New World Economy analyzes the impact of globalization on French industrial relations.

Looking at the changing economic context of industrial relations, this important text places particular emphasis on the notion of a shift from a national, Fordist form of employment regulation, to an international, post-Fordist form - examining in detail the impact of this shift on the role of the French state and on the balance of power between employer and trade union organizations.

Including chapters on employer organizations, collective bargaining, the role of the state, and workplace representation, French Industrial Relations in the New World Economy explores this fascinating topic in detail and provides a detailed resource for postgraduates studying trade unions, industrial and employee relations, and industrial studies in general.

U.S. labor leaders are constantly developing new programs to revive the union movement. What happens when these plans collide with the daily lives of front-line union staff and members? This book examines the often conflicting interests of key players in the trenches of a national effort to bring back the U.S. labor movement.Brutally honest, funny, and never dull, this anthropological ethnography shows the daily struggles of union members today to bring about positive change and hold together their urban labor union in an era of globalization, outsourcing, and deindustrialization.The authors, a union activist and an anthropologist respectively, pair up to offer insider views of labor unions "and" of how anthropological fieldwork is done. Explaining, coaching, and warning Paul of hazards, Suzan, the communications director for the local union, provides inside views and details of day-to-day interactions. Paul, the anthropologist, provides outside analytical views that relate Suzan's experiences and his own observations to the wider view anthropology offers through the lenses of ethnography, holism, and comparativism. The result is a story of one dynamic union local, one anthropological study, and the lit fuse that connects them until the end.

In "American Labor and American Democracy," William English Walling drew on his close association with Samuel Gompers and other leaders of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to write the authoritative history of the labor movement in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Walling's position was that twentieth-century American democracy was not stagnant. It was a living, developing trend in society, with the AFL as its most progressive force. There could be no passive acceptance of American institutions as they stood: government in the twentieth century would need to develop into a medium for attaining social ideals and needs beyond individual realization. The aim of American labor was a pluralistic economic democracy in which government and industry would be guided by economic organizations representing not only labor, but every essential social group. Richard Schneirov, in his introduction to this new edition of a classic book, paints a rich and detailed picture of Walling's political and intellectual journey, and of his many contributions to the synthesis of democratic and socialist principles. "American Labor and American Democracy" is an important work that will help reevaluate our understanding of labor and working-class history, establish a new perspective on today's labor movement, and shed light on the relationship of labor to socialism, capitalism, democracy, and social movements; the nature of the large business corporation; and the relationship of special interest groups to democracy. William English Walling (1877-1936) was a social reform activist who helped found the National Women's Trade Union League in 1903 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. He authored several influential works, including "Socialism as it Is: A Survey of the World-Wide Revolutionary Movement," "The Larger Aspects of Socialism," "Progessivism and After," and "The Socialists and the War." Richard Schneirov is professor of history at Indiana State University, and has also taught at The Ohio State University and the Institut f3r England und Amerikastudien at the University of Frankfurt, Germany. He is the author of "Labor and Urban Politics: Class Conflict and the Origins of Modern Liberalism in Chicago, 1864-97," which was awarded the Urban History Association's prize for best urban history in North America for 1998 and co-edited "The Pullman Strike and the Crisis of the 1890s."

Since it came into force on 31 January 1997 the Arbitration Act 1996 has generally been welcomed by users and practitioners in the construction industry. It has fulfilled expectations that it would provide a user-friendly and practical basis of resolving disputes arising from construction contracts in a fair, expeditious and economical way. In doing so it has generated a modest volume of case law that has demonstrated the excellence of the Act's provisions and its drafting.

Since the Fourth Edition of this book appeared in 1997 the Housing Grants, Construction and regeneration Act 1996 with its Scheme for Construction Contracts Regulations 1998 have come into force, as have the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, both of which affect the resolution of disputes arising from construction contracts. Case law has arisen from the Construction Act, and from the House of Lords judgment in the Beaufort Developments case, overturning the much-criticised judgment of the Court of Appeal in Crouch.

In this Fifth Edition of an established text the author deals with each stage of an arbitration, explaining in practical terms the procedures to be adopted in avoiding disputes and in dealing with them efficiently when they do arise. It features over 20 specimen arbitration documents and includes the full text of the Act. It also covers several important developments in case law affecting construction arbitrations, and refers to the introduction and case law arising from adjudication under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.

This enlightening book provides the first systematic introduction to, and exploration of, the emerging system of industrial relations in China, and draws on the authors' extensive research and direct involvement in the developments taking place. The authors argue that there are both unifying and fragmenting elements to the ongoing development of industrial relations, but overall it is one in which the state continues to maintain a major, and direct, influence. Divisions between workers and managers may be escalating with increased open conflicts, but this book reveals that the picture is far more complex and contradictory than to assume that the solution is convergence with western style industrial relations systems. They conclude that industrial relations institutions and processes still act within a political context and with the guiding hand of the Chinese Communist party. Industrial Relations in China draws on up-to-date material and will ensure the book's appeal to industrial relations and Chinese scholars. It will also appeal to a wider audience of Asian labour and development studies scholars.

A sweeping history of the full range of human labor Few authors are able to write cogently in both the scientific and the economic spheres. Even fewer possess the intellectual scope needed to address science and economics at a macro as well as a micro level. But Paul Cockshott, using the dual lenses of Marxist economics and technological advance, has managed to pull off a stunningly acute critical perspective of human history, from pre-agricultural societies to the present. In How the World Works, Cockshott connects scientific, economic, and societal strands to produce a sweeping and detailed work of historical analysis. This book will astound readers of all backgrounds and ages; it will also will engage scholars of history, science, and economics for years to come.