About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

350 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. ix (1963)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0350 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD Social institutions after a period of intense growth may reach a plateau. They then neither grow nor contract in size, significance, or influence. Following this longer or shorter period of relative stability may come a period of contraction or renaissance. This stationary stage in the history of an institution in a particular country becomes even more troublesome to its partisans if it coincides with the ap- pearance of similar trends in other national institutions which would suggest com- mon problems in the entire culture and society and also if the same or similar in- stitutions in other countries are concurrently confronted with the same need for reorientation and revitalization. The American trade-union movement is at this stage in history. Its growth has stopped. In fact, its membership has begun slowly to decline in face of the con- tinued expansion in the total number of employed. Many other American institutions have and are facing the same need for re- vitalization and many others have to be reoriented to the new postwar environ- ment. Since the middle fifties, Americans have been re-examining the solvency and adequacy of many individual institutions and phases of our national and re- gional life. Is our educational system adequate? Are we building the right type of urban community? Why is our economy not growing faster and absorbing the unemployed and outstripping the rate of economic growth of the Communist na- tions? How can we liquidate the traditional discriminations against minority groups? Why have we lost our lead in many phases of scientific exploration? These are some of the questions we have asked. Special commissions have ex- amined our national goals. Others have surveyed specific phases of our intellec- tual, social, political, and economic structure, policies, and performance. Re-ex- amination of our society has become a general pursuit as the world no longer auto- matically accepts our pre-eminence and we have to establish our forward positions through persuasion and performance. The trade-union movements of most developed countries have also begun to re- alize the need for them to re-evaluate their positions. They are stronger in num- bers and bargaining power than they have ever been. But their power, prestige, structures, policies, and personnel have been called into question. Rivalries among unions are frustrating the movements in some countries. At a time when their opportunities for influence are greatest, they appear to be floundering and are un- able to provide the leadership expected of them. Among them, one can record an increased disposition to reassess the situation and to grapple with new issues so as better to define the unions' functions and their methods of operation in the new environment. The papers in this volume, except for one chapter, all deal with the American labor movement. They represent a contribution to the re-evaluation of the per- formance and orientation of an important American institution. The first two chapters argue the question as to whether there is a crisis. Professor Philip Taft, a long-term student of the institution, argues that its failure to gain large numbers in the short-run would pose no threat. He sees no serious obstacle to its future prospects or to present organzations for he contends that the factors which make ix

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most