Arthur Horner (1894-1968) was a miners' leader from the 1926 general strike to his retirement as general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1959. During his life, he played a crucial role in the fight for a national mineworkers union, and in the development of the National Coal Board; he was a champion of the Republicans in Spain; he was imprisoned several times for his views; and, he was in constant demand as a speaker. But it was his warmth, good humour and enthusiasm which made 'little Arthur', as he was affectionately known by his union colleagues, really memorable.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, British trade unions have experienced a dramatic retreat, marked by rapidly falling membership and declining industrial power. The authors examine the regional dimensions of this retreat of organised labour, paying particular attention to:
The resilience of the unions' historical heartland areas. The impact of economic restructuring on local union traditions. The shrinking landscape of industrial militancy. The geographical decentralization of the new industrial relations. The link between these factors and the more general debate on regional development and regional labour markets.
An important synthesis of economic geography and industrial relations work, this book marks a major contribution towards the newly emerging field of labour geography

This book is not only about the tailoring industry and its trade unions; it is about the experience of eastern European immigrants in a trade as old as the Bible and yet as new as the electric sewing machine; it is about the role of women in a new industry and about the impact of socio-economic change on fashion. Finally, it is about the way in which sub-divisions and differences were accommodated under the umbrella of one particular trade union.

This book is not only about the tailoring industry and its trade unions; it is about the experience of eastern European immigrants in a trade as old as the Bible and yet as new as the electric sewing machine; it is about the role of women in a new industry and about the impact of socio-economic change on fashion. Finally, it is about the way in which sub-divisions and differences were accommodated under the umbrella of one particular trade union.

The relationship between the Conservative Party and the trade unions has been at best uneasy and more often than not hostile. This study examines the attitudes and policies of the Conservative Party towards the trade unions from the 19th century onwards, linking these to wider political and economic circumstances and the key personalities involved. Peter Dorey shows that there has always been disagreements within the Conservative Party as to how it should deal with the trade unions. These disagreements have in large part reflected divisions within British Conservatism itself, between the paternalist, "one nation" strand which has traditionally favoured a conciliatory approach to the trade unions, and the "economic liberal/social authoritarian" strand, which has always hankered after the virtual suppression of trade unionism.

Save Our Unions: Dispatches From A Movement in Distress brings together recent essays and reporting by labor journalist Steve Early. The author illuminates the challenges facing U.S. workers, whether they're trying to democratize their union, win a strike, defend past contract gains, or bargain with management for the first time. Drawing on forty years of personal experience, Early writes about cross-border union campaigning, labor strategies for organizing and health care reform, and political initiatives that might lessen worker dependence on the Democratic Party. Save Our Unions contains vivid portraits of rank-and-file heroes and heroines, both well-known and unsung. It takes readers to union conventions and funerals, strikes and picket-lines, celebrations of labor's past and struggles to insure that unions still have a future in the 21st century. The book's insight, analysis and advocacy make this an important contribution to the project of labor revitalization and reform.

This work provides a history of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Topics covered include: the union's influence on political legislation and global economy; the story of the East European immigrants at the turn of the 20th century; and the union's spirit of social reform.

This work provides a history of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Topics covered include: the union's influence on political legislation and global economy; the story of the East European immigrants at the turn of the 20th century; and the union's spirit of social reform.

The essays in this volume examine the historic and present-day role of the internal critics of the postwar regimes in Eastern Europe who, whatever their intentions, used Marxism as critique to demolish Marxism as ideocracy, but did not succeed in replacing it.

The essays in this volume examine the historic and present-day role of the internal critics of the postwar regimes in Eastern Europe who, whatever their intentions, used Marxism as critique to demolish Marxism as ideocracy, but did not succeed in replacing it.

The heart of any trade union is its reps and activists organising in the workplace. After years of membership decline across sectors, a renewed recognition of this essential fact is behind the 'turn to organising' in the union movement today. This turn to collective organising builds strength at a local as well as a national level, and also aids in mobilising around a wider range of political issues from campaigning against austerity to taking action for the environment. In recent years, this fusion of workplace organising and national campaigning has been exemplified by Europe's largest education trade union, the National Education Union (NEU). In Lessons in Organising, the authors bring together activist, academic and union official perspectives to assess the potential (and the limitations) of the 'turn to organising' and set out the case for a new transformative trade unionism for the 21st century.

This stimulating collection of essays by distinguished British, American, Australian and German scholars, originally published in 1985, offers a picture of the upsurge of New Unionism and the growth of old unions, and looks at the severe setbacks which occurred in the labour movements of Britain and Germany between the 1880s and the First World War. Labour history is seen from a European perspective and special emphasis is placed on the role of the state in Britain and Germany in its desire to contain and suppress trade union activity by law or force. Insights are provided into the political allegiances of the unions and their members to the parties of the working class and the state.

This is the third volume on the history of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), covering the period 1945 to 1960, and starting with an extraordinary moment in its history. There were such high hopes with the election of Attlee’s Labour government, committed to a series of radical reforms, establishing the Welfare State and nationalising key sectors of the economy. These reforms seemed to offer unique opportunities to move forwards towards what Nye Bevan, the main architect of the NHS, saw as a ‘new world both at home and abroad’. Or did it? This volume explores the challenges as well as the opportunities for radical reform, as these played out between 1945 and 1960. There was renewed industrial unrest, with disputes in the docks and transport industries, despite the best efforts of the Labour Government to contain them. Much remained to be achieved in terms of equalities, and there were challenges when it came to calls for international solidarity in the Cold War context. But still, there had been major developments in terms of trade union education. The T&G had become a much more democratic organisation, and, overall, was a more powerful, progressive force by the end of this period. This volume explores issues with continuing relevance for the trade union and labour movement.

On attaining office in Autumn 1989, the Solidarity-led government in Poland faced two enormous tasks. First was the restoration of stability to an economy prone to hyperinflation; second, was the replacement of a crumbling command system in favour of a market mechanism, in a country whose market institutions had been destroyed under 40 years of communist rule. "Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland" recounts the events of this period and the course taken by the new government. The authors analyze the issues involved and their significance for the transition process in Poland and elsewhere. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 outlines the economic and intellectual climate prior to the introduction of the government's bold plan. Named the "Balcerowicz Plan", after its chief architect, this aimed to liberalize and stabilize the economy simultaneously. Part 2 examines the macroeconomic situation in this period. The authors discuss the initial improvements - the improved balance of trade, the accumulation of foreign reserves and the increase in the external value of the zloty. These developments, however, were short lived, and the macroeconomy soon began to decline.

Using data from the 2000 Census, this collection examines the major demographic and employment trends in the rural Midwestern states with special attention to the issues that state and local policy makers must address in the near future.

Using data from the 2000 Census, this collection examines the major demographic and employment trends in the rural Midwestern states with special attention to the issues that state and local policy makers must address in the near future.

Japanese trade unions are generally considered to be rather weak and their co-operative relationship with employers has been a major factor contributing to Japanese economic success. Paradoxically, Japanese labour law has hitherto been viewed as relatively pro-union. Anthony Woodiwiss traces the development of Japanese labour law from the middle of the 19th century to the present. He shows how labour law has grown out of prevailing economic and political circumstances and relates the development of labour law to the development of society and of citizenship rights. On this basis he argues that Japanese labour law is not in fact as pro-union as previously thought, and concludes that the prospects for trade unions in Japan continue to deteriorate rather than improve.

This book, first published in 1994, explores the impact of work and gender roles on union activism, and identifies factors that support and hinder women's representation in trade unions. These issues are discussed in terms of gender role, work-related and union-related factors. The author details what trade unionists are doing to challenge inequalities that still exist, and identifies factors that divide and unite men and women within trade unions. The author shows the impact that feminism has had on the trade union movement and explores the extent to which men and women have similar priorities for collective bargaining.

In this book, first published in 1975, the author examines the role of women in the workforce. Despite representing a rapidly increasing section of the workforce, why are women still overwhelmingly confined to unskilled jobs? Why do they hold such a tiny proportion of managerial and professional posts? In answering these vital questions Ross Davies shows how women's economic roles in pre-industrial society were modified and distorted by industrialisation; how this legacy of exploitation has affected contemporary attitudes among both men and women; and how the present situation should be seen and assessed in its proper perspective.

This book, first published in 1941, is concerned to relate the argument for Trade Unionism to the needs of women who work, whether in their homes or outside them. It is, in part, a historical analysis of the inter-war years, and it also prefigures the changes to women's working conditions brought about by the two World Wars. War necessitated the mass employment of women, and Trade Union action had greatly improved the position of the woman war-worker of 1941 compared to a quarter century previously. This invaluable book examines that Trade Union action.

Almost half of government employees are represented by labor organizations, and public-sector unions act as a significant force in the effective operation of government and can exert substantial control over labor costs and procedures in the workplace. The response by state and local officials has varied greatly, with collective bargaining frameworks existing as a patchwork of experiments--from mandated collective bargaining to outright prohibition. While their policy actions seem to recognize the benefits of bilateral negotiation, the spectre of service disruption continues to haunt them. Because public-sector bargaining is a recent development, policy analysts lack a firm handle on policymaking in this sphere. Piskulich examines the dimensions of state and local public-sector labor policy and explores policies that enable policymakers to manage the collective bargaining process in line with their goals.

This study looks at the three questions most crucial to policy efficacy: what governments do; why they do it; and what difference it makes. Three central findings emerge from the issue of what governments do. The evidence indicates increasing enactment of labor policy over time across subnational jurisdictions. Policy across occupations is stable, though there are important differences in the willingness of the employer to tolerate strikes and resolve impasses. Third, it appears that policy actors make three distinct sets of decisions: basic policy; the availability and mechanics of the arbitration mechanism; and the degree to which they provide public unions with institutionalized union security. The answer to why they do it hinges on factors of ideology and policy; the effects are mitigated when unionization is considered. What difference it makes, examines two variables in particular: unionization and service disruption. Piskulich reaches three conclusions: that a majority of subnational jurisdictions see value in collective bargaining for their public employees, that unions can help themselves, and that unionization and disruption vary with policies implemented. These findings provide insight into the larger questions on the role of organized labor in American democracy.

First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In the midst of the freezing winter of 1978-79, more than 2,000 strikes, infamously coined the "Winter of Discontent," erupted across Britain as workers rejected the then Labour Government's attempts to curtail wage increases with an incomes policy. Labour's subsequent electoral defeat at the hands of the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher ushered in an era of unprecedented political, economic, and social change for Britain. A potent social myth also quickly developed around the Winter of Discontent, one where "bloody-minded" and "greedy" workers brought down a sympathetic government and supposedly invited the ravages of Thatcherism upon the British labour movement. 'The Winter of Discontent' provides a re-examination of this crucial series of events in British history by charting the construction of the myth of the Winter of Discontent. Highlighting key strikes and bringing forward the previously-ignored experiences of female, black, and Asian rank-and-file workers along-side local trade union leaders, the author places their experiences within a broader constellation of trade union, Labour Party, and Conservative Party changes in the 1970s, showing how striking workers' motivations become much more textured and complex than the "bloody-minded" or "greedy" labels imply. The author further illustrates that participants' memories represent a powerful force of "counter-memory," which for some participants, frame the Winter of Discontent as a positive and transformative series of events, especially for the growing number of female activists. Overall, this fascinating book illuminates the nuanced contours of myth, memory, and history of the Winter of Discontent.

Faced with the economic pressures of globalization, many countries have sought to curb the fundamental right of workers to join trade unions and engage in collective action. In response, trade unions in developed countries have strategically used their own governments' commitments to human rights as a basis for resistance. Since the protection of human rights remains an important normative principle in global affairs, democratic countries cannot merely ignore their human rights obligations and must balance their international commitments with their desire to remain economically competitive and attractive to investors."Human Rights and Labor Solidarity" analyzes trade unions' campaigns to link local labor rights disputes to international human rights frameworks, thereby creating external scrutiny of governments. As a result of these campaigns, states engage in what political scientist Susan L. Kang terms a normative negotiation process, in which governments, trade unions, and international organizations construct and challenge a broader understanding of international labor rights norms to determine whether the conditions underlying these disputes constitute human rights violations. In three empirically rich case studies covering South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Canada, Kang demonstrates that this normative negotiation process was more successful in creating stronger protections for trade unions' rights when such changes complemented a government's other political interests. She finds that states tend not to respect stronger economically oriented human rights obligations due to the normative power of such rights alone. Instead, trade union transnational activism, coupled with sufficient political motivations, such as direct economic costs or strong rule of law obligations, contributed to changes in favor of workers' rights.

First published in 1988. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.