Building More Effective Unions

by Clark, Paul F.

• ISBN13: 9780801475191
• ISBN10: 0801475198
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Employers have long turned to behavioral science for guidance on making their organizations more effective. Labor scholar Paul F. Clark believes union leaders should also take advantage of the valuable discoveries made in this field, and he offers a straightforward account of how they can do so. Much of the behavioral science research relevant to unions relies on complex statistical analyses and is disseminated through scholarly journals. This clearly written book makes the findings of behavioral science accessible to those committed to building a stronger labor movement. It describes behavioral science's understanding of such topics as organizational commitment and member participation and suggests how this knowledge can best be applied to unions. The book features examples of how unions and their leaders have benefited from putting the principles of behavioral science into practice.

Author Biography

Paul F. Clark is Professor of Labor Studies and Industrial Relations at Pennsylvania State University. He has served as an education and research consultant for more than twenty-five national and numerous local unions. He is the author of Forging a Union of Steel: Philip Murray, SWOC, and the United Steelworkers and coeditor of Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, both from Cornell.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
List of Union Acronyms	p. xiii
Behavioral Science and Union Effectiveness	p. 1
Union Participation: A Model	p. 14
Organizing and Retaining Members	p. 32
Union Member Orientation and Socialization	p. 53
Political Action	p. 71
Grievance Procedures	p. 90
Information and Communication Strategies	p. 106
Union Image-Building	p. 124
Union Culture	p. 142
Union Leadership	p. 169
Conclusion	p. 188
References	p. 195
Index	p. 209
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Paul F. Clark believes union leaders should take advantage of the valuable discoveries made in behavioral science, and, in Building More Effective Unions, he offers a straightforward account of how they can do so. The second edition provides an updated discussion of important lessons behavioral science holds for labor organizations. It also provides new examples of how unions and their leaders have benefited from putting the principles outlined in the first edition into practice.