Unions and legitimacy
By: Gary Chaison, Barbara Bigelow
Contributors: Bigelow, Barbara Jane, 1951-
Publisher: ILR Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Ithaca; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 133
Subjects: Labor unions -- Recognition -- United States; Consensus (Social sciences) -- United States
Description: "Legitimacy is vital to unions. Without it, they lose political and ideological support, members, and access to funds. Gary Chaison and Barbara Bigelow use the concept of legitmacy as a lens through which to understand the steady decline in union size and influence and to suggest new strategies for union revitalization.".

"Chaison and Bigelow relate legitimacy to five case studies: the UPS strike, the organization of clerical workers at Harvard, the AFL-CIO associate membership campaign, the fight against NAFTA, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association Campaign for Safe Care.

The cases show the need for unions to move beyond pragmatic concerns and link their activities to the broader interests of their constituencies, demonstrating not only that they offer something tangible in return for support (pragmatic legitimacy) but also that they are doing the right thing (moral legitimacy)." "Chaison and Bigelow's work has practical implications for the management of unions' core activities - organizing, collective bargaining, and political action."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [111]-128) and index
Table of contents: title: Legitimacy matters; title: but what is it?; title: Who confers legitimacy on unions?; title: Managing pragmatic legitimacy; title: Gaining moral legitimacy; title: What can legitimacy tell us about the state of the unions?