bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public Sector Retiree Health Care Benefits: A View from the American States
Authors: Coggburn Jerrell D. , Daley Dennis M. , Kearney Richard C.
Published: April 2013

This paper reports findings of a survey on retiree health care benefits in the American states. It begins with an overview of the challenges the states face following the reporting of their unfunded liabilities for other (non-pension) post employment benefits, as required by GASB 45. Next, it reports survey data on the perceived effects of health care benefits on human resources goals (recruitment, retention, and retirement), the current structure of state retiree health care programs, and measures being considered and/or adopted to deal with retiree health care costs. Survey results show that the states have adopted cost containment strategies and cost-sharing programs. They have now begun to introduce preventive medicine and wellness efforts while continuing with further cost-sharing. A few states have even begun to contemplate major cost shedding options. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for retiree health care policy and human resource management.
Attitudes and Occupational Commitment among Public Personnel: Differences between Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers
Authors: Tang Thomas Li-Ping , Cunningham Peter H. , Frauman Eric , Ivy Mark I. , Perry Tara L.
Published: April 2013

We investigate the relationships between two work-related attitudes (the love of money and leisure ethic) and affective, continuance, and normative occupational commitment controlling gender, organizational tenure, and career tenure and test the model across Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in a multi-group analysis. We collected data from a stratified random sample of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in the USA ( N = 397). Results suggested that leisure ethic was positively related to affective commitment for Baby Boomers, whereas the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for Gen-Xers. Career tenure was positively related to all three components of occupational commitment for both age cohorts. Gender (male) was positively related to love of money and negatively related to leisure ethic for Gen-Xers, but not for Baby Boomers. Further, the love of money was negatively related to affective commitment for male Gen-Xers, but not for female Gen-Xers. Results provide important implications for managing Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers.
Questions of Ethics in Public Sector Management: The Case Study of Hong Kong
Authors: Luk Sabrina Ching Yuen
Published: April 2013

Ethics has become more important in public administration in recent years. The problems of corruption, abuse of power, and fraud keep on arising within the government, leading to a decrease in public confidence in the government. Many governments worldwide include ethics in their reform agenda. Hong Kong, having civil servants being internationally recognized as among the least corrupt and the least bureaucratic, is no exception. The essay will examine ethics in public sector management in Hong Kong. It will be divided into six sections: (1) ethics in government and its importance, (2) the rise of ethics in public administration, (3) general ethical practices in public sector, (4) ethical practices in the Hong Kong, (5) weaknesses of ethical practices and its challenges in the Hong Kong government, and (6) conclusion. It shows that the Hong Kong government has faced ethical challenges in recent years, including being difficult to transform ethical principles, the problem of ethical dilemma, the ineffectiveness of ethical mechanism, and the line of accountability being blurred under privatization. A three-pronged approach—ethical leadership, ethical training, and ethics legislation—is recommended for maintaining the integrity of the civil service in Hong Kong.
Managing HR in the Middle East: Challenges in the Public Sector
Authors: Iles Paul , Almhedie Abdoul , Baruch Yehuda
Published: April 2013

Management in the Arab world, and in particular HRM, received very little attention in the literature. HRM in the Middle East (ME) is greatly influenced by culture, Islam, and the role of “wasta”/”piston” (connections/pull), as well as by national and global politics. We focus on the management of HR in the public sector in the Middle East, showing similarities with and differences from the ruling managerial models that prevail in the West. We use conceptualising of the case for uniqueness of the Middle East and how managerial processes are influenced by the prevailing culture. We apply a case study to support our arguments. We believe that there are significant implications that this paper brings, in particular, practical implications at both organizational and national levels. The value of the paper is in providing an open view of management in the Middle East (ME), and its implications for decision making at organizational and national levels.
Domestic Partner Benefits
Authors: Knight Margaret A. , Comer-HaGans DeLawnia
Published: April 2013

The demographics of the traditional American family are changing. More couples are electing to become domestic partners and remain unmarried; domestic partners include same-sex as well as opposite-sex relationships. Understanding the environment within which employers offer domestic partner benefits (DPBs) is essential. DPBs are an issue of marital status as benefits proposed to married employees differ slightly from those offered, if at all, to domestic partners. Our purpose is not only to provide a broad landscape of the barriers surrounding the offering of DPBs from a human resource perspective, but also some of the advantages of doing so.
Building and Capacitating a Unified Public Administration and Management System for Integrated Service Delivery in South Africa
Authors: Sing Danny
Published: April 2013

The 1996 South African Constitution mandates that service delivery must be oriented towards meeting the development challenges confronting South Africa. In early 2002, a discourse began on building and capacitating a joint three-government sector approach to service delivery, an approach necessary to ensure a comprehensive strategy to confront the challenges of a developmental state. In 2007 the Public Administration, Leadership and Management Academy came into being to support the capacitating thrust or principal enabling legislation, namely the Public Administration Management Bill was published in 2008. Joint strategic interventions and goodwill of legislators, institutional leadership and civil society formations, will eventually ensure that this innovative and creative momentum to the joint three-government sector approach to service delivery in a developmental state, will be addressed and sustained.
The Study of the Antecedents and Outcomes of Attitude toward Organizational Change
Authors: Chih Wen-Hai William , Yang Feng-Hua , Chang Chih-Kai
Published: April 2013

This study sampled volunteer non-commissioned officers of R.O.C. Air Force Headquarters and used their views to examine whether or not employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment will affect their attitude toward organizational change and further influence their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) during the implementation of “Streamlining Program of Armed Forces.” This study adopted the questionnaire survey method and random sampling of volunteer officers in the R.O.C. Air Force Headquarters. Effective samples totaled 345, and structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. Empirical findings showed that 1) Organizational commitment had the highest direct effect on attitude toward organizational change, followed by job satisfaction; 2) Attitude toward organizational change had the highest direct effect on OCB, followed by job satisfaction; 3) Organizational commitment did not have a significant direct effect on OCB, but a significant indirect effect could be reached thorough the support of attitude toward organizational change; and 4) Attitude toward organizational change had the highest total effect on OCB, followed by job satisfaction. According to the research framework and empirical results, several managerial implications and suggestions for future studies were subsequently proposed.
An Examination of Salient, Non-Monetary, Factors Influencing Performance in Public Sector Organizations: A Conceptual Model
Authors: Jordan Mark H. , Lindsay Douglas R. , Schraeder Mike
Published: April 2013

Public sector organizations are experiencing incredible pressures to become more efficient, while simultaneously maintaining a high level of responsiveness to public constituents. These pressures are translated into intense demands placed on public sector employees and their collective performance. The purpose of this article is to examine important perceptions about key organizational phenomena and related employee attitudes in the context of performance in public sector organizations. Specifically, the implications of perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived psychological contract support (PSCS) are explored, leading to the development of a conceptual model which embodies non-task behaviors of organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors, as well as cynicism and embeddedness as salient attitudes that should be considered in conjunction with POS and PSCS as antecedents of job performance in public sector organizations.
Implementation of an HRIMS at the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama: A Case Study in Process Reengineering
Authors: McCullough Roger , Sims Ronald R.
Published: April 2013

This paper presents a case study of how a human resource information management system (HRIMS) was implemented in a civil service agency. The paper first describes the five-phases of the business reengineering process used to implement the HRIMS. It concludes with lessons learned for implementing an HRIMS in public sector organizations.
Driven to Service: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation for Public and Nonprofit Managers
Authors: Park Sung Min , Word Jessica
Published: April 2013

This research draws upon a survey of nonprofit and state government managers to examine the role service motivation plays in both sectors. The research addresses three main research questions: 1) What are the main motivational dimensions and constructs of managers in the public and nonprofit sectors? 2) How are these different types of work motivations related to each other? and 3) What differences exist between these sectors in terms of level of intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation? Our findings suggest there are four different motivational constructs and in many ways public and nonprofit managers are similar in terms of the importance of intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation. While the mean level of extrinsic motivation in the public sector is statistically higher than in the nonprofit sector, certain types of extrinsic motivation such as advancement motivation and WLB motivation are highly correlated with intrinsic motivation in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Finally, directions for future research and practical implications are also discussed.
An Issue of Public Affairs Management: The Effect of Time Slack and Need for Cognition on Prediction of Task Completion
Authors: Qian Baiyun , Zheng Quanquan
Published: April 2013

This study examined whether time slack would influence the prediction of task completion time and whether need for cognition would influence prediction accuracy if time scenarios were manipulated. With a laboratory experiment in which 140 subjects were involved, two major results were obtained: (1) People expected time slack to be greater in the future than in the present, but the operation of time slack scenarios did not reduce the participants' optimism about when their tasks would be completed. Time constraint scenarios enhanced their prediction optimism. (2) Individual differences in need of cognition would influence the effects of operation of time scenarios.
Screening Decision-Making Framework Serving Human Resource Management Based on the Image Theory
Authors: Nai Wen
Published: April 2013

Many processes of human resource management involve decision-making, especially, screening. T In this study, the screening decision-making processes based on the Image Theory were studied. Several important conclusions were made, and a framework of screening decision-making was constructed. This framework provided a central configuration and some new viewpoints and evidence for a descriptive decision-making study and for human resource management application.
The Mechanism of Gender Difference and Representation Role in Negotiation
Authors: Chen Huajiao , Chen Qing
Published: April 2013

This paper examined the effects of gender difference and the representation role on negotiation under Face-to-Face (FTF) and Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) conditions. Laboratory experiments with a 2(sex of seller) × 2(self- vs. other- representation for seller) × 2(FTF vs. CMC) factorial design were conducted. Target wages and agreement wages were dependent variables. The findings were as follows: (1) There was a significant effect of the representation role on the target wages of female sellers, while there was a significant effect of the media on the target wages of male sellers. (2) There was no significant difference in the agreement wages of female sellers across media conditions when they were representing others as compared to themselves, while there was a significant two-way interaction between representation role and media on the agreement wages of male sellers.
The Effect of Empathy on Cooperation, Forgiveness, and “Returning Good for Evil” in the Prisoner's Dilemma
Authors: Xu Huanu , Kou Yu , Zhong Nian
Published: April 2013

Empathy-induced cooperation, forgiveness, and “returning good for evil” in the Prisoner's Dilemma were investigated among Chinese participants. In Study 1, empathy for the partner promoted cooperation in a one-trial Prisoner's Dilemma and fostered forgiveness after the partner's defection. In Study 2, when the partner had defected beforehand in a sequential one-trial Prisoner's Dilemma, empathy manipulation showed no effect on “returning good for evil,” but empathy fostered forgiveness. Expert-rating empathy from the note communication predicted “returning good for evil.” Males showed more “returning good for evil” than females. Gender difference related to the effect of empathy on “returning good for evil” called for further investigation. The implication to the public personnel management in Chinese organizations was discussed.
The Impact of the Service Staff's Recruitment and Service Characteristics in Public Service Units on Public Mental Acceptance: Evidence from the Host Recruitment and TV Program Features
Authors: Zheng Lu , Chen Xinmiao , Peng Lin , Zhang Jin
Published: April 2013

As one of the public service units, TV stations tried to make market-oriented reforms by developing brand TV programs to compete with others. The principal focus of our study was to find out the symbolic brand effect of self-congruity and brand personality on audience attitudes, brand loyalty, audience satisfaction, and program preference for TV programs in China. Results indicated that (a) the congruity of audience's self-concept and typical audience image had a positive influence on audience watching mentality; (b) a positive brand personality could result in favorable program evaluation; (c) preference for the host played a moderating role on brand personality effects.
Exploring the Topography of Performance and Effectiveness of U.S. Federal Agencies
Authors: Joaquin M. Ernita , Park Sung Min
Published: April 2013

We have a proliferation of tools to evaluate federal agencies’ performance and effectiveness. This article explores how effectiveness and performance values are distributed across government agencies based on three well-known assessment instruments used during the Bush administration: the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Management Scorecard, the Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART), and the Best Places to Work (BPTW) survey. A cluster analysis of the scores from these assessment tools allows us to examine the topography of the agencies in terms of the relationship between the tools and the context of performance, namely, the type of mission carried out by the agencies. Depending on the policy mission type, some agencies fare better in some assessment measures than others. By comparing scores from PART and OMB Scorecard with the BPTW survey, we also find a complex picture when leadership-driven performance metrics are compared with the results of an employee-based assessment of organizational effectiveness.
Legal Issues for HR Professionals
Authors: Woska William J.
Published: April 2013

Employers have a duty to perform workplace investigations in situations involving a workplace incident that violates an employer’s rules, regulations, policies, or procedures. Workplace investigations occur for many different reasons including reports of sexual harassment, employee altercations, safety issues, security breaches, customer complaints, and other issues. The primary goal of a workplace investigation is to produce findings that will provide the employer with the basis to make a decision concerning the action to be taken regarding the incident. By taking the necessary steps to determine what happened the employer is provided with a solid foundation to defend any action that may be taken with respect to a subsequent challenge.
An Analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Ricci v. DeStefano
Authors: Mitchell Charles E.
Published: April 2013

Almost 6 months after winning their U.S. Supreme Court case, a group of New Haven, Connecticut, firefighters celebrated their victory in grand style. The decision in Ricci v. DeStefano proved that the City of New Haven erred when it denied promotions to White firefighters who fared better on promotional examinations than did minority applicants. This article (a) examines the thrust of the Ricci decision, which involved two competing facets of the same equal employment opportunity (EEO) statute; (b) discusses the mistakes inherent in the testing procedures of the City of New Haven, Connecticut; (c) addresses the involvement of Justice Sonya Sotomayor in the decision; and (d) examines the implication of the decision for public-sector employers using testing procedures of the nature found in Ricci v. DeStefano. The author concludes that the decision underscores the need for use of alternative testing procedures and suggests that Ricci v. DeStefano is but a precursor to further litigation designed to render use of disparate-impact analysis unconstitutional.
A Union-Initiated Safety Training Program Leads to Improved Workplace Safety
Authors: Hilyer Barbara , Leviton Laura , Overman Lynn , Mukherjee Snigdha
Published: April 2013

Workplace safety training programs initiated by unions have gained strength and numbers over the past ten years. Union-initiated peer train ing offers a new twist on joint labor-management health and safety pro grams, which have become an important area of labor-management coop eration. Peer trainers play a major role in the new partnerships, as man agement learns how effectively workers function as trainers who speak directly to worker interests. This article describes a program of coopera tion between a large international union, a university labor center, and companies where members of the union developed and taught workplace safety courses. Results of a survey to quantify workplace impact of the training program are reported.
Labor Perspectives on Accounting and Industrial Relations: A Historical and Comparative Review
Authors: Brown Judy A.
Published: April 2013

The role of accounting in industrial relations has received minimal attention in the research literature. Academics, when they have looked at the area at all, have tended to research from a managerial perspective; the interests of labor are either ignored or assumed to coincide with manage rial interests. This is reflected in the rationales provided for communicat ing with employees, which are dominated by a unitarist discourse and focus on the potential for achieving a more co-operative, responsible and productive labor resource. This article turns the tables and explores what, if anything, the accounting discipline has to offer employees and unions.
From Union Identity to Union Voting: An Assessment of the 1996 Election
Authors: Bruno Robert
Published: April 2013

An important but remarkably under analyzed labor studies subject is the relationship between union identity and union member voting behav ior. The dominant political theory in America holds that pluralism gen erates overlapping and crosscutting interests that militate against the for mation of a dominant political orientation. However, it is the thesis of this work that once subjected to intense union political education and lobby ing, workers would strongly identify with their dues paying status and were more likely subsequently, to cast a union/class-based vote. Based on post-1996 presidential election surveys of union members in Illinois the following study addresses the subject of union members' political atti tudes and voting behavior and serves to extend an underdeveloped field of scholarship by presenting empirical research on the relationship be tween union political education, political orientation and union member voting behavior.
Living Wage Campaigns From a "Social Movement" Perspective: The Miami Case
Authors: Nissen Bruce
Published: April 2013

This article uses the Miami living wage campaign to examine the potential and limitations of living wage campaigns to build enduring social movements which unite organized labor with community partners. Using the tripartite framework derived from the social movement litera ture of "political opportunities," "mobilizing structures," and "framing processes," the article analyzes this particular campaign to determine if a genuine social movement emerged. Hecksher and Palmer's thesis that organized labor as presently constituted is incapable of forming egalitar ian multilateral alliances with non-labor partners is tested, and sugges tions for "best practice" are developed.
Training and Equity Initiatives on the British Columbia Vancouver Island Highway Project: A Model For Large-Scale Construction Projects
Authors: Cohen Marjorie Griffin , Braid Kate
Published: April 2013

The equity initiatives in training and hiring on this large project were unique and stunningly successful. At peak production periods the equity hires constituted more than 20 percent of the workforce, a figure that is ten times higher than normal. This project was the first time a significant effort had been made to integrate women and First Nations in a commercial highway project. It was accomplished through two risk- taking and innovative measures. One was a priority for equity hires in the collective agreement and the other was the establishment of a training site where women and First Nations (mostly male) built a section of the highway as part of the training process. This article examines these fea tures and the experiences of the workers, contractors, and trade unions with the equity initiatives. It pays particular attention to the construction industry workplace culture and how this affects training for equity groups.
Improving the Union Outreach Capabilities of Manufacturing Extension Centers
Authors: Haddad Carol J.
Published: April 2013

This study investigates the effectiveness of structured union out reach activities at manufacturing extension centers. An analysis of inter view and survey data from three centers that participated in a labor out reach pilot program indicates that while the program was successful in increasing union leader awareness of the extension services, several struc tural and political obstacles limited its overall effectiveness. Union out reach programs were most successful at centers that engaged in long-term change interventions, integrated labor outreach into their overall opera tions, had local/regional union support for the program, and subsidized the services offered to unions.
Neither a Gem Nor a Scam: The Progress of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
Authors: Singh Parbudyal , Adams Roy J.
Published: April 2013

The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) is essentially an intergovernmental labor agreement that attempts to promote high labor standards among member states, in light of free trade, without transgressing their sovereignty. In effect since January 1994, the NAALC has experienced mixed fortunes. In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of the agreement by focus ing on its two main components, viz., the cooperative activities and the "complaint mechanism." We find that although the NAALC's accomplishments are modest, the agreement does have the capacity to advance the struggle for labor rights.
E. T. Weir, Employee Representation, and the Dimensions of Social Control: Weirton Steel. 1933-1937
Authors: Hennen John
Published: April 2013

This article analyzes early New Deal-era anti-union strategies at Weirton Steel Company, a subsidiary of National Steel Corpora tion. After a massive Weirton Steel walkout for union recognition in 1933, National Steel chairman Ernest T. Weir moved to pre serve his autocratic control. One means he used was the Employee Representation Plan, one of hundreds of such plans formed by steel managers to circumvent the collective-bargaining provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act. The article addresses the flourishing of rank-and-file militancy at Weirton, the fragmenta tion of unionization efforts, Weir's successful challenge to the le gitimacy of the National Labor Board, and the pattern of coercion that drove the Steelworkers Organizing Committee from Weirton Steel in 1936-37. It concludes that the virtual monopoly of shop- floor and civic power exercised by Weir's corporation, combined with employee skepticism about the organizing committee's effi cacy and structure, made accommodation to company prerogatives an understandable course of action for Weirton workers.
Canadian Union Strategies in the Context of Change
Authors: Kumar Pradeep , Murray Gregor
Published: April 2013

Drawing on the results of a national survey of labor organizations in Canada, this paper focuses on the changing environment and strategic orientations of unions. It looks at the strategic dilemma facing Canadian unions on the basis of a reading of their organiza tional and bargaining priorities and their relative success in achiev ing them. Key results include the necessity of a strategic mix be tween traditional and new types of objectives as well as the impor tance of policy and the democratic dialogue that underpins that policy in achieving union objectives and pursuing union renewal.
Corporations Go to Prisons: The Expansion of Corporate Power in the Correctional Industry
Authors: Chang Tracy F. H. , Thompkins Douglas E.
Published: April 2013

Over the last two decades, the U.S. prison population has qua drupled, with some 1.9 million people behind bars in federal and state prisons, and local jails by the year 2000. Corporations are seeking profit-making opportunities from this prison population. In this paper, we examine two major areas through which corpora tions are capitalizing on prison labor: prison privatization and prison industry. We briefly review key explanations of incarceration, re port on the current state of prison privatization and prison indus trialization, examine the impact they have on organized labor, and propose union strategies in fighting against the expansion of cor porate power in the correctional industry.
The Role of Labor Education in Transforming a Union Toward Organizing Immigrants: a Case Study
Authors: Nissen Bruce
Published: April 2013

This article looks at a series of educational programs on attitudes toward immigrants conducted for the South Florida Regional Coun cil of the Carpenters Union by the author. It details the content and nature of the programs, the key players, the relationships of the programs to change within the union, internal union sensi tivities, and the end results. The case is analyzed to indicate key issues surrounding education of this type: its sensitive nature, the centrality of surfacing normally hidden feelings and opinions, the need for decisive backing from key power centers within the union, the blurring of the difference between "education" and "consult ing" in this type of labor education, and several necessities/cau tions for this type of labor education to work.
Bargaining For "Quality" in Higher Education
Authors: Worthen Helena , Berry Joe
Published: April 2013

What "quality" means in higher education depends on whether one speaks from the labor (faculty) or the management (adminis tration) perspective, but the current "cooperate around quality" trend does not leave room for debates about definitions of quality. This reflects the fact that faculty and administration do not come to the bargaining table as equals. Increasingly, the administration's definition is simply imposed on employees who are, in the major ity, contingent, and not yet represented by unions. To show how differences in what counts as "quality" play out in a highly unequal confrontation, we present a case study of the experience of one teacher and union activist in the Chicago City Colleges. We then place this case in the context of the current campaign to privatize both administrative and instructional functions of the Chicago City Colleges. Instead of "cooperating around quality," we recom mend an alternative strategy of coalition with other higher educa tion workers and students and commitment to a labor definition of quality.
The Decline of a Cooperative, Union- Controlled Grievance Procedure
Authors: Stanger Howard
Published: April 2013

Between 1941 and 1992, the Columbus Typographical Union's grievance procedure underwent a change from a cooperative, union- controlled system with peer review as an important core feature, to one that became more adversarial and typical of industrial union procedures. Key factors outside the immediate employment rela tionship were largely responsible: the industrialization of Colum bus, federal labor policy, technological changes, industry restruc turing, and general changes in printing industry labor relations practices. Few unions had as much shopfloor power as the typogra phers ; few union members enjoyed more democratic rights in the workplace. Despite this, the union suffered tremendous losses. Thus, for unions, this case study shows that cooperation with manage ment in unstable, changing social environments can be a very risky undertaking, especially if they do not pay proper attention to their larger environment.
The Development of an Anglo-American Model of Trade Union and Political Party Relations
Authors: Bodah Matthew M. , Ludlam Steve , Coates David
Published: April 2013

In this article we offer an historical and comparative view of trade union and political party relations in the United States and Great Britain. Using our own typology of union/party linkages, we trace the development of ties between the labor movements and politi cal parties in both countries from the beginning of the 20th cen tury, when both labor movements turned to political action to gain relief from hostile court decisions; through the mid-20 th cen tury, when relations were particularly strong; to the present where unions have a favored, but not central, role in party policymaking. Today, the Labour and Democratic parties protect the institutional viability of unions, but often adopt policies corrosive of the unions' aims. We believe the current state-of-affairs is explained by a re treat from the Keynesian assumptions that underpinned relations in the mid-20th century and a change in electoral strategy that de emphasizes class-based alliances.
Labor's Youth Brigade
Authors: Foerster Amy
Published: April 2013

This paper utilizes archival research, in-depth interviews and par ticipant observation to analyze the founding and organizational history of the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute. The author argues that the particular way in which the institution was founded, the conflicting goals and mission of its early supporters, and genera tional and ideological clashes between Institute graduates and the larger labor movement have created conflict and, in some cases, undermined the Institute's founding goals. Additionally, the unre solved nature of these debates—as well as the larger debate regard ing commitment to organizing among Institute affiliates and the AFL-CIO—may undercut organizer success in the field and con tribute to a high level of turnover among Institute graduates.
Unions And Family Leave
Authors: Budd John W. , Brey Angela M.
Published: April 2013

Using a survey of over 2,000 employees, we analyze the extent to which labor unions have facilitated the implementation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Among hourly workers, union representation does not have a significant effect on FMLA leave-taking frequency, but union members are more likely to have heard of the FMLA, are more likely to have fully-paid leaves, and are less likely to worry about losing their jobs or seniority because of taking leaves. The results also indicate that minority workers could benefit from additional representation.
Outflanking Power, Reframing Unionism: The Basic Strike of 1999-2001
Authors: Johnston Paul
Published: April 2013

How is it possible for workers and their unions to effectively challenge the overwhelming power of employers? The 1999-2001 Basic Vegetable strike by 750 mostly Mexican immigrant members of Teamsters Local 890 in King City, California, achieved surprising success against the archconservative owners of Basic Vegetable Products and the giant ConAgra Corporation. This account elaborates Offe and Weisenthal's model of labor movement revival, relying on concepts from social movement theory, organizational analysis, and the sociology of power, to explain the Basic strikers' success in highly unfavorable economic and legal circumstances. This study observes the convergence in this workforce of movements for race and gender justice, workplace and immigrant rights, and union reform. It emphasizes the significance of organizational change driven by these social movements in equipping the union for success. It focuses on four methods employed by the Basic strikers for "out-flanking power" that are labeled (1) reframing meanings, (2) changing the rules, (3) constitutional practices, and (4) changes in basic structures of control.
Yeshiva and Faculty Unionization in Higher Education
Authors: Metchick Robert H. , Singh Parbudyal
Published: April 2013

It has been over two decades since the United States Supreme Court handed down the landmark Yeshiva decision. In that case, the faculty in a private university was determined to be "managerial" and not entitled to collective bargaining rights and other protections under federal labor law. Despite Yeshiva's broad and significant impact in deterring faculty organizing at private colleges and universities, successful union organizing drives, though few, have been growing more frequent on campuses across the United States. In this paper, we examine the Yeshiva case and analyze its implications for private and public universities, including current trends such as the increased use of contingent faculty and distance learning. We also examine successful organizing efforts and discuss their implications for organized labor.
Preserving the Pattern
Authors: Hickey Robert
Published: April 2013

This paper examines the relationship between membership mobi lization, collective bargaining strategies, and union revitalization. The Paper, Allied-Chemical, and Energy (PACE) Workers Inter national Union waged a successful, five-year comprehensive cam paign against Crown Central Petroleum. Critical to the success of the union's comprehensive campaign was the role of locked-out union members, the use of strategic corporate research and an un wavering commitment to fight at all levels of the national union. The case reveals that the nature of bargaining power entails more than the ability to sustain a protracted dispute. Bargaining power was built on a much broader network of actors and included a diverse, interconnected set of pressure tactics. Finally, the poten tial for comprehensive campaigns to spur union revitalization is limited by the isolation of such strategies from the core of tradi tional union practices.
The Coalition for Healthy Communities
Authors: Hall Amy , Schaefer Dan
Published: April 2013

In the spring of 2002 the Los Angeles (LA) County Department of Health Services anticipated that in 2005 they would face an eight hundred million dollar deficit, and so they presented plans to "re design" and dismantle the public health care system that serves nearly three million uninsured residents of LA. The county pro posed three possible scenarios that would close clinics and hospi tals, and reduce immunization, emergency, and trauma services. Our paper presents the LA Coalition for Healthy Communities' fight-back campaign, which was spearheaded by our sister union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 660. Over fifty stakeholders joined the coalition, including our union, the Committee of Interns and Residents, united under the principle that the LA County public health care system must be adequately funded, and community participation is critical to shaping the public health system. We discuss the activism of the coalition member ship, its mobilization around different stages of the campaign, and its failures and successes, including the 2002 November ballot- initiative victory, Measure B, the first property tax increase in California in over twenty years, which will generate $168 million a year for LA County trauma and emergency services.
The Effectiveness and Limits of Labor- Community Coalitions
Authors: Nissen Bruce
Published: April 2013

This article has an extensive literature review of previous research and writings on labor-community coalitions. It utilizes Frege, Heery, and Turner's taxonomy of labor-community coalitions and Rose's concept of the "bridge builder" to elucidate and analyze the growth of coalitional efforts in south Florida in the past six years. The south Florida case is used to test Hecksher and Palmer's claim that U.S. unions are incapable of acting as equal partners in multilat eral coalitions with others (i.e., "common-cause" coalitions). Eight conclusions about when and why coalitions work well or poorly are drawn. Important factors include uniting issues, staffing, "bridge- builder" characteristics, union-membership characteristics, dem onstrated efficacy, and the prospects for wider social movements. Finally, Heckscher and Palmer's pessimism is called into question.
More Pain, Less Gain
Authors: Lund John , Wright Christopher
Published: April 2013

Variable-compensation systems are increasingly common in the trucking industry. This paper examines the growing use of variable compensation for grocery truckers and highlights the links between the replacement of standard hourly pay, the industry's adoption of supply-chain management, and the outsourcing of the logistics func tion. A case study of "activity-based compensation" for grocery truckers illustrates how such alternative pay systems impact earn ings, hours worked, and working conditions. From this we de velop a set of recommendations to show how unions can better monitor and regulate these pay systems.
Managerial Unionism
Authors: Eaton Adrienne E. , Voos Paula B.
Published: April 2013

Surveys demonstrate that U.S. managers, like other workers, want greater voice at work. Many have joined organizations that repre sent employee interests: caucuses based on social identity, pressure groups, and professional associations. In varying degrees, these organizations use old union tactics such as mutual aid, skill-certi fication, and political activity. All these organizations have seri ous limitations. For the benefit of both managers and unions them selves, unions should increase their outreach to these organiza tions and employees. Public-sector unions often include some managers so they provide one model. However, methods of repre sentation beyond collective bargaining are important here. Ad equate representation of managers requires return to Sidney and Beatrice Webb's conception of unions as any continuous associa tion of employees seeking to improve their working lives.
Producers Of The World Unite! A Return Of Reformist Unionism?
Authors: Wheeler Hoyt
Published: April 2013

Some ideas of Reformist "uplift unionism," as exemplified by the nineteenth-century Knights of Labor, have once again become in teresting. Arising in a time of hyper-competition and troubled times for traditional trade unions, the Knights aimed to reform society, primarily through solidarity among producers and the for mation of cooperatives. Their local organizations often included social action groups along with trade unions. Under current con ditions of international hyper-competition and trade union de cline, some of the ideas of the old Knights have new importance. The current concept of unionism as a social movement can be grounded in Reformist notions, as can modern worker-rights orga nizations and the reasoning underlying the workers' capital move ment. Reformism offers a coherent approach to these labor move ment strategies.
Unions as Social Capital: Renewal through a Return to the Logic of Mutual Aid?
Authors: Nissen Bruce , Jarley Paul
Published: April 2013

This paper argues that unions can increase both the normative and instrumental value of trade unionism if they organize their activities and functions around regulating and extending the natu rally occurring social networks that tie members together in work- places. In so doing, the paper analyzes how the service model of unionism has contributed to shop-floor weakness, identifies the basic logic and limitations of the organizing model, and details the practices and structures that would be integral to organizing unions around social-capital formation and mutual-aid functions.
New Turf for Organizing: Family Child Care Providers
Authors: Brooks Fred P.
Published: April 2013

Child-care providers are among the lowest paid wage workers in the United States. Nationwide, less than 5 percent of child-care providers are represented by labor unions. This article addresses the question,: How can family child care providers be effectively organized? I describe and analyze Local 880 Service Employees In ternational Union's effort to organize family child-care providers in Illinois. Adapting the grassroots-organizing model that they developed to organize homecare workers, Local 880 has over 2,200 signed authorization cards and over 1,500 members in the family child-care union. Even without formal recognition, the union won a pay increase for providers in 1999 and has filed numerous suc cessful grievances about disputed back pay. Keys to 880's success in organizing family child-care providers were: (1) prior experience in homecare organizing, especially non-NLRB organizing, (2) experi ence with grassroots organizing, and maintaining unions without recognition, and (3) ability to influence state-wide elections and legislative issues by becoming involved in direct politics and join ing coalitions.
Mandatory Overtime Work in the United States: Who, Where, and What?
Authors: Golden Lonnie , Wiens-Tuers Barbara
Published: April 2013

Who works mandatory overtime? Descriptive analysis of a module in the 2002 General Social Survey finds that 28 percent of full-timers face and 21 percent actually worked extra hours because it was required by their employer—a slight increase since overtime work was last measured twenty-five years ago. Mandatory overtime is more frequent among men, the foreign born, those employed in non-profits, blue-collar occupations, and industries such as public administration and manu facturing. Relative to workers who have no overtime, workers who face mandatory overtime are found more frequently among workers who have inflexible work schedules, seniority, difficulty finding alternative jobs, bonus compensation, and poor relationships with management. Relative to those with non-mandatory overtime, those who work man datory overtime show less job satisfaction, job security, and say about their jobs. Thus, understanding the effects of mandatory overtime has implications for organizations that aim for high-performance workplace structures and smooth labor relations and for labor organizers who seek to attract members by addressing the negative consequences of mandatory overtime, such as heightened work-family interference. While some collective bargaining provisions seek to curb mandatory overtime, their limited effect may be why at least seven U.S. states have passed some form of legal ban and/or right to refuse.
A Heroic Defeat: The Caterpillar Labor Dispute and the UAW, 1991-1998
Authors: Devinatz Victor G.
Published: April 2013

In "The Caterpillar Labor Dispute and the UAW, 1991-1998," Isaac Cohen contests the popular notion that the UAW's dispute with Caterpillar resulted in a major defeat for the union. He states that the struggle's outcome did not end in an unconditional union surrender because the UAW obtained a contract that was considerably better than the company's imposed terms and conditions during the dispute. Cohen argues that had the UAW International adopted a different strategy during this dispute the union would have experienced a more favorable outcome. I challenge Cohen's views and argue that, although the UAW membership launched heroic and militant strikes against Caterpillar, the dispute ultimately ended in a decisive union defeat.
Local Union Leaders' Conception and Ideology of Stewards' Roles
Authors: Chang Tracy F. H.
Published: April 2013

This study investigates the ways in which local union leaders define shop stewards' roles and the ideology that underlies their conception. Drawing on sociological theories, the author proposes three major role ideologies: conflict/activist, rationalization/bureaucratic, and functionalist/cooperative. Based on a survey of southern local union leaders, the study finds that "grievance handler" and "representative" are the most commonly identified roles for stewards. Union leaders conceive of stewards' roles in ways that reflect diffuse ideologies; nevertheless, rationalization and functionalist ideologies are more prevalent than conflict ideology.
Striking Ensembles:The Importance of Clothing on the Picket Line
Authors: Clemente Deirdre
Published: April 2013

Social scientists and historians have long recognized the interaction between fashion and social stratification. The present paper examines the clothing worn by women during two important strikes in the labor history of the United States — specifically, the 1909 Shirtwaist Strike in New York City and the wave of strikes in the Southern textile mills during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Although separated by a generation and geographic region, both strikes possessed similarities that reveal a great deal about the evolution of women in the workplace during the first three decades of the last century. Specifically, (1) both strikes were in industries populated heavily by women and almost de void of systematic labor organization; (2) in both strikes clothing was utilized by women to simultaneously reflect solidarity and emphasize their linkage to society at large; (3) both groups of strikers were faced with a generally hostile press—generally more concerned with what the women wore on the picket line than with the substantive issues of the strike, and (4) when juxtaposed, these strikers, and the often controversial fashions associated with them, mirrored the changing role of women over a time span marked by the right to vote, a World War, the "flapper" era, and the rise of media culture—especially the film industry. Overall, the analysis demonstrates how the study of clothing can add texture and tangibility to important events in the labor history of the United States.