A survey of 86 union representatives in worksites with employee participation programs was followed 3 years later with a survey of 66 reps and 49 corresponding managers. Only 20-30% of the programs failed, although management and union opinions differed. Union reps attributed failure to poor labor relations and were more likely than management to…

Concludes that labor relations among districts vary in response to and enforcement of specific contract provisions and that labor relations at the school level vary within districts, influenced by such factors as administrative leadership, staff allegiance, and student needs. (JOW)

This study explored labor relations practices in United States parks and recreation agencies. Responses from 200 public parks and recreation organizations are discussed and displayed in tabular form. (CJ)

Case study of a Canadian aluminum smelter through 15 interviews, observation, and employee survey (n=214) revealed high commitment, acceptance of change, and worker independence from management. This pattern emerged from a traditionally strong union presence. Comparison with other cases underlines the centrality of collective organization to…

Analysis of data from a 1998 telecommunications industry survey indicates that institutional pressures and human resource strategies contribute to adoption of nonunion dispute resolution procedures. Employment rights litigation and court deferral to nonunion arbitration led to an increase in mandatory arbitration procedures. Threat of unionization…

The Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey of 2,353 companies showed sporadic employee participation in decision making. Although case studies of Ford Motor, Australia Post, Lend Lease, Telecom Australia, and Woodlawn Mining illustrate successful programs, most managers appear cautious about industrial democracy. (SK)

Includes "AWIRS (Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey) and Productivity" (Wooden); "Workplace Productivity and Joint Consultation" (Alexander, Green); "Impact of Unions on Workplace Productivity in Australia" (Crockett et al.); and "AWIRS and Workplace Performance" (Drago, Wooden). (SK)

Interviews with 32 British union representatives and a survey of 200 auto workers found that union strength was renewed because of new management techniques in industry, which have increased local autonomy. Unions are directly engaged in the issues involved in teamwork, quality control, and flexible manufacturing. (SK)

Using data from two integrated steel-making sites, variation in the process and outcomes of workplace restructuring was studied. Four union capabilities were critical to success in negotiating with management over workplace restructuring: ability to access information, educate members, communicate with management, and access decision making at…

Transcripts of interviews with trade union trainers in Australia identified contradictory discourses: discourse of struggle and discourse on the economy. Some training activities focused on consensus building in workplace relations, but trainers' informal theories acknowledged the power imbalance between the working class and management. (SK)

This book is a study of the Australian Education Union (AEU), a federal organization of government schoolteachers in the states and territories of Australia. Founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, it became the AEU in 1993. By 1998, the AEU had grown to become the third largest trade union in Australian, with some 157,000 members. This…

The authors explain how interaction analysis can extend existing methods of analyzing negotiations by examining economic bargaining theories. They code the transcript of a negotiation using two coding schemes and apply Markov chain analysis to the results. (Author/SK)

An analysis of the productivity offsets to achieve second tier wage increases for workers covered by Australian national and Queensland awards shows that the two-tier wage system increased competitiveness and productivity, especially in blue-collar industries. (JOW)

Hypothesizes that boundary spanning is differentiated function not necessarily performed by one person. Analyzing longitudinal data collected during labor negotiations shows some individuals on bargaining teams ("representatives") broker ties toward their opponents, and others ("gatekeepers") broker ties from their opponents.…

Development of the personnel function of local government in the United Kingdom has resulted in a managerial process reflecting key features of the human resource management model. However, employee commitment and organizational flexibility are less evident, and the collectivist nature of employee relations remains well entrenched. (SK)