1st Edition

Trade Unions in Renewal A Comparative Study

Edited By Peter Fairbrother, Charlotte Yates Copyright 2003
    304 Pages
    by Routledge

    302 Pages
    by Routledge

    This comprehensive survey of continuity and change in trade unions looks at five primarily English-speaking countries: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The authors consider the recent re-examination by trade union movements of the basis of union organization and activity in the face of a harsher economic and political climate. One of the impetuses for this re-examination has been the recent history of unions in the USA. American models of renewal have inspired Australia, New Zealand and the UK, while Canada has undergone a cautious examination of the US model with an attempt to develop a distinctive approach. This book aims to provide a thorough grounding for informed discussion and debate about the position and place of trade unions in modern economies.

    Chapter 1 Unions in Crisis, Unions in Renewal?, Peter Fairbrother, Charlotte A. B. Yates; Chapter 2 The American Labour Movement and the Resurgence in Union Organizing, Kate Bronfenbrenner; Chapter 3 You Just Can’t Do It Automatically: The Transition to Social Movement Unionism in the United States, Kim Voss, Rachel Sherman; Chapter 4 Trade Union Innovation, Adaptation and Renewal in Australia: Still Searching for the Holy Membership Grail, Gerard Griffin, Rai Small, Stuart Svensen; Chapter 5 A Near Death Experience: One Union Fights for Life, Belinda Probert, Peter Ewer; Chapter 6 From Organizational Breadth to Depth? New Zealand’s Trade Unions under the Employment Contracts Act, Pat Walsh, Aaron Crawford; Chapter 7 A Story of Crisis and Change: The Service and Food Workers Union of Aotearoa, Sarah Oxenbridge; Chapter 8 The Dilemmas of Social Partnership and Union Organization: Questions for British Trade Unions, Peter Fairbrother, Paul Stewart; Chapter 9 Rhetoric and Reality: The Adoption of the Organizing Model in Manufacturing, Science and Finance, Bob Carter; Chapter 10 Strategic Dilemma: The State of Union Renewal in Canada, Pradeep Kumar, Gregor Murray; Chapter 11 The Revival of Industrial Unions in Canada: The Extension and Adaptation of Industrial Union Practices to the New Economy, Charlotte A. B. Yates; Chapter 12 Social Movement Unionism: Beyond the Organizing Model, Christopher Schenk; Chapter 13 Globalization, Trade Union Organization and Workers’ Rights, Huw Beynon;

    Biography

    Peter Fairbrother, Charlotte A. B. Yates,