Working for the Union: British Trade Union Officers

by John Kelly, Edmund Heery

Overview

This book is a study of the relationship between full-time union officials and shop stewards across the whole of British industry in 1986-87. It is the first major study of union officials for twenty years, and one of the most detailed studies of workplace collective bargaining and union organization following the recession of the early 1980s. In the wake of recession, union decline and industrial restructuring, Britain is said by some commentators to be entering "a new industrial relations." This book provides a unique body of evidence that throws new light on this claim, and casts serious doubt on its validity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521383202
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/09/1994
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Management , #22
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

John Kelly, who holds a graduate degree in European history, is the author and coauthor of ten books on science, medicine, and human behavior, including Three on the Edge, which Publishers Weekly called the work of "an expert storyteller." He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Introduction: trade unions and industrial relations; 2. Theoretical analyses and empirical studies of trade union officers; Part II. The Parameters of Union Work: 3. Full-time officer organisation; 4. Employment relations; 5. Work relations; Part III. The Full-Time Officer at Work: 6. Organising; 7. Bargaining objectives; 8. The bargaining process; 9. Dealing with managers; Part IV. Conclusions: 10. Working for the union.

Editorial Reviews

"John Kelley and Edmund Heery's excellent study of full-time trade union officers, Working for the Union, goes a long way....It has a clear theoretical project, it is methodologically sophisticated, and it fills a major gap in our understanding of British trade unions. It is certainly the most important book on British trade union organization....[it] provides an unparalleled picture of the work of trade union officers. But the implications of this fine study go well beyond improving our understanding of that crucial stratum of union organization, to shed light on some of the central issues in contemporary British industrial relations." Industrial and Labor Relations Review

"This book is destined to become a classic of the industrial relations literature...this book belongs on the shelf of every serious industrial relations scholar." Industrial Relations

From the Publisher