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

473 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 9 (1984)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0473 and id is 1 raw text is: PREFACE In the first half of the 1980s, American unionism finds itself both in crisis and at a crossroads. It is not a circumstance that has developed overnight, but is a reflection of trends-economic, social, and political-that have been occurring since the close of World War II. Changes in technology and in the location of industry; eight recessions; shifts in the nature of work; multinational operations and outsourcing; a general restructuring of the economy with large numbers of plant shutdowns and extensive reductions in force-all of these have impacted primarily on jobs and employment in heavy industry, where the bulk of union membership is located. Coupled with these trends has been the growth of a political climate hostile to the practice of unionism. The end result has been a decline in union membership, a growing preoccupation with job security in contract negotiations, an increased emphasis on concession bargaining, and an increasing awareness of a growing limitation on union political power. The union movement has faced crises before but never of this magnitude. In many cases the balance of power between manage- ment and union has been so radically altered that traditional precepts and concepts of collective bargaining are beginning to have little meaning. A number of problems and issues face American unionism. The first and fore- most is to restore the economic viability of the union. This means the recruitment of new members. Where are these members to come from? The second is to restore a viable political role on the national and local levels. What new political constituen- cies might be created, and how might the union participate? Third, what can be done to reverse the patterns of give-back (concession) bargaining? Can a balance of power be restored where the union once again is the advocate of worker interests in gaining a greater slice of the pie and some control over the conditions of work? Finally, what new forms of management-labor cooperation are realistic and effec- tive in promoting the long-run interests of unionized workers? What is the future of quality-of-work-life and employee-involvement programs? Do they help or hinder the interests of unionized workers? In this volume we have assembled sixteen articles that discuss various issues, problems, and opportunities for the future of American unionism. In the opening article Jack Barbash gives a historical perspective of American unionism from Roosevelt to Reagan. Markley Roberts reviews the future demographics of Ameri- can unionism in terms of how labor force characteristics and workers' expectations will affect the future structure of jobs and unions. Doris McLaughlin and Douglas Fraser discuss some issues and concerns for future collective bargaining. The future role of unions on the national political scene is analyzed by Charles Rehmus, while Everett Kassalow places the future of American unionism in the perspective of what is happening to unions on the international front. Arthur Schwartz and Michele Hoyman analyze the trends and consequences of the considerable turnover in leadership that has been occurring in American unionism. We turn next to new community and plant structures that American unions have come to participate in, in the name of labor-management cooperation-the com- munity labor-management council presented by Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld and the 9

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