The past fifteen years have been difficult for the labor
movements in industrial countries. Gary N. Chaison addresses
questions implicit in the decline of unions in the United States,
Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand: How and why do
labor unions merge under pressure? What role do mergers play in the
unions' strategies to deal with membership losses, management
opposition, and hostile governments? Are there distinctive national
profiles of union mergers?
Chaison begins by describing the dynamics of the union merger
process as large unions combine with each other in amalgamations,
as small unions are absorbed into larger ones, and as local unions
affiliate into nationals. He discusses the reasons for mergers, the
barriers to consolidation, and the problems of integration which
may result. The five chapters that follow are arranged in order of
increasing intensity in merger activity, ranging from the United
States, where interest in mergers is growing, to New Zealand, where
changing legislation has catalyzed an enormous wave of mergers.
For each of the five countries considered, Chaison characterizes
the industrial relations climate and merger record since 1980,
explains landmark mergers, identifies the antecedents, and assesses
the chances that a sudden flood of mergers will occur. The final
chapter compares the national profiles, extrapolating the
significant differences and common threads. Chaison concludes that
while mergers can play a critical role in revitalizing labor
movements and building the dominant unions of the future, they are
not necessarily solving the fundamental economic and political
problems that plague unions.
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