Set against a background of technological change, national bargaining and union merger, this thesis considers the impact of a changing structural, economic and political climate on the resilience of national pay bargaining within general print, a little documented but important section of the economy. It seeks to examine contemporary workplace industrial relations where, against national trends, national bargaining has been resilient. It is in the light of there being a long association with strong, regulatory unionism within the sector that this study seeks to explore the reality of workplace industrial relations under national bargaining. There has been a wealth of theoretical and empirical data produced on the background to the wider debate on the declining influence of multi-employer bargaining across the UK economy. However, little work has been committed to the general printing sector that investigates why, in the face of fundamental changes to industrial relations practice, the national agreement for this sector appears to have continued relatively unscathed. The thesis draws on the experience of twelve branches with respect to the impact of the national agreement; three case studies in general print sector companies located in the South West, Humberside and Anglia regions; and on documentary evidence and participant observation. Analysis of the thesis was informed by classical and contemporary writers on industrial relations. The thesis finds a shift from traditional adversarial approaches to partnership in national agreement negotiations. The thesis reveals that at the workplace level, the chapel structure remains intact with its traditional, hierarchal structure and the accompanying issues of gender segregation and worker exclusion remaining firmly embedded within chapels. Behind this appearance of chapel strength an air of apathy and poor organisation impacts on union activity and local bargaining. The thesis concludes by critiquing shifts away from traditional bargaining and questions the state of workplace organisation with changes in union structure. Importantly, the thesis presents data on the state of collective bargaining in the sector, and in particular identifies a shift from the traditional adversarial approach to partnership in the national agreement; it also identifies the difference in the image and reality of workplace organisation in the sector where behind the appearance of chapel strength lies an air of apathy and poor organisation that ultimately impacts on chapel activity and local bargaining. Using Kelly’s model for union renewal the thesis assesses the level of union activity and considers the likelihood of increased union activity in the workplace in the general print sector.

<p>The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) is a relatively small but growing independent Canadian labour union that has attracted a great deal of criticism from many mainstream unions. CLAC’s basis in Christian principles, which emphasize cooperation and reconciliation over conflict and reject the socialist notion of class struggle, have led the organization to develop a unique approach to labour relations that puts it at odds with traditional Canadian unions and labour organizations. This approach also seems to have contributed to strong membership growth over a period when the membership of other unions was stagnant or in decline.</p> <p>This paper attempts to provide some insights on CLAC’s competitiveness by squaring its alternative approach to labour relations with its strong growth relative to other unions. The findings of this paper build on existing research and literature on CLAC’s background and philosophical underpinnings and are based heavily on firsthand interviews with workers and union executives. The key findings of this paper are that CLAC’s competitiveness is strongly related to its conciliatory brand of labour relations, its organizational structure, rooted in its founding role as a religiously based cultural institution, and its position on the outside of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) umbrella. Another important conclusion is that the competitiveness of unions is heavily influenced by its ability to align its values and organizational culture with the values and identities of workers and the specific regulatory and economic environment in which they work.</p> / Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC)

No / This article provides empirical data from the Tyneside Maritime Construction Industry (TMCI) to contribute to the union renewal/resilience debate. The aim of the study is a focus on the effectiveness of shop steward organisation in the industry, levels of activity in membership participation and its significance for union democracy, all of which are important factors in the debate. The paper supports the resilience argument and adds a further development to the debate by presenting evidence which suggests resilient renewal.

No / The article shows that community initiatives take different forms and are the outcome of a broader interplay of factors between workers’ interests, representation, and the strategies of unions and broader coalitions that are mobilized in specific communities. Drawing from three case studies on black and minority ethnic (BME) workers and trade unions in the UK the article looks at how the rhetoric of community unionism has been adopted in an uneven manner by trade unions: the article suggests that: (a) community initiatives are variable, (b) they lack a structure and clear vision, (c) the question of BME engagement is rarely central in many projects, and (d) the ambivalent role of the state is a significant factor in many of these initiatives. This state role is downplayed in much of the literature, thus raising dilemmas in terms of community initiatives.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

No description available.

No description available.

Cette recherche dresse un portrait de la situation de la relève syndicale au Québec et des tentatives des organisations syndicales pour stimuler la participation de leurs membres de moins de 30 ans. Elle brosse d’abord un aperçu des habitudes sociales, des valeurs et des caractéristiques en emploi des jeunes. Elle nuance et recadre ensuite la problématique des jeunes en ce qui concerne l’identité collective qu’ils partagent instinctivement et les modalités de socialisation à l’interne façonnant leur participation. Cette recherche remet en question la fenêtre de recrutement estimée où les jeunes seraient en mesure d’entâmer leur participation dans les structures syndicales. Au demeurant, elle décrit l’ampleur des innovations syndicales destinées à stimuler la participation des jeunes et démystifie le mandat de l’une d’elle, les comités jeunes, qui peuvent agir à la fois comme porte-parole de leur organisation, comme la voix des jeunes membres et comme pépinière de la relève syndicale. Les données empiriques utilisées pour ce mémoire proviennent d’une vingtaine de groupes de discussion et de huit entretiens semi-dirigés (n=228), tenus dans deux organisations syndicales d’importance au Québec, disposant d’un comité jeunes et organisés par les chercheures d’un projet de recherche plus vaste sur la participation syndicale des jeunes. Nos résultats démontrent en premier lieu une identité collective construite autour de la précarité et des injustices perçues par les nouveaux travailleurs. L’âge ne serait pas significatif dans la construction de l’identité des jeunes qui semblent en phase de conquérir leur identité. En second lieu, le cadre strict de plusieurs modalités de socialisation avait un effet inhibiteur sur la participation, favorisait des relations d’échanges instrumentales et ne tenait pas compte de la sensibilité de cette nouvelle génération pour les interactions réciproques avec leurs représentants syndicaux. Nous avons aussi observé une utilisation limitée des nouvelles technologies, qui présentent des potentialités intéressantes en matière de transfert des connaissances de surcroît. Par ailleurs, nos résultats à l’égard de l’identité collective observée et de la durée du processus de socialisation soulèvent des questionnements sur la pertinence même des structures jeunes dans leurs paramètres actuels. Le parcours d’un jeune vers la militance syndicale apparaît plus tardif qu’escompté. Plus encore, la problématique jeunes met en lumière les tensions intrinsèques au mouvement syndical quant à la libre négociation sociale des intérêts défendus et du consensus interne nécessaire à leur légitimité. / This research addresses the situation of Québec’s trade unions’ youth and the trade unions’ attempts to stimulate the participation of those under 30 years old. It also helps to describe social habits, values and characteristics at work of young workers. Then it qualifies and reframes the youth issue in terms of their shared identity and the socialization mechanisms shaping their participation. This research brings into question the actual recruitment window when young members could start participating into their unions. Finally, it describes some trade unions’ strategies to stimulate youth’s participation and clarifies one of the, the youth committees, who not only have the mandate to act as the unions’ spokesperson, but also as the youth’s voice from the inside and as a school for the trade unions’ next generation of members. The chosen qualitative methodology comes from twenty focus groups and eight semi-structured interviews (n=228) held in two notorious trade unions in Québec which had youth committees and organized by the researchers of a larger research project on youth’s participation. Our results show a collective identity built around precariousness and perceived unfair treatments by the newest workers. We found that age was not a significant factor in building collective identity and young members were still battling to express their own collective identity. Besides, it shows how the rigid frame of many socialization mechanisms had inhibiting effects on participation, positionned members in an instrumental relationship with their trade union and did not take into account this generation’s sensitivity for reciprocal interactions with their union representatives. We also observed weak engagement coming from trade unions towards new technologies, which seemed a great opportunity for knowledge transfer regarding the new generations of workers. In addition, our results about the observed collective identity and the actual duration of the socialization process bring into question the relevance of youth structures within their actual parameters. The journey of a young member towards union activism seemed to take more time than estimated. Moreover, the youth issue highlights inherent tensions to the labour movement’s social negotiation of the defended interests and the consensus needed for their legitimacy.

Cette recherche fait état de la crise du syndicalisme qui affecte la capacité d’action et l’efficacité des pratiques des organisations syndicales à travers le monde. Elle dresse un portrait complet des éléments de crise qu’elle décline sous les niveaux économique, politique et social. Cette recherche expose ainsi la nécessité d’un renouveau syndical pour porter précisément sur les coalitions, hétérogènes notamment, comme stratégie de renouveau syndical. Au plan analytique, elle évalue l’impact de l’identité et de la capacité organisationnelle d’une organisation syndicale aux Philippines sur son choix de se coaliser, mais aussi l’influence de ses objectifs et du contexte national dans lequel elle évolue. Les données empiriques pour mener cette étude proviennent principalement de près de 24 entrevues semi-dirigées, tenues auprès de représentants de l’une des plus grandes organisations syndicales des Philippines, de représentants d’organisations non syndicales alliées et de répondants externes à celle-ci. Premièrement, nos résultats montrent qu’une identité collective sociétale forte influence favorablement le choix de l’organisation syndicale étudiée de se coaliser. Elle confirme également le rôle essentiel de l’identité dans l’orientation de son action collective. Deuxièmement, nos résultats permettent de conclure qu’une capacité organisationnelle forte influence favorablement le choix de cette organisation syndicale de se coaliser, considérant qu’elle permet à celle-ci d’identifier les opportunités d’action, de mettre en œuvre de nouvelles stratégies et d’assurer la légitimité et la mobilisation des membres quant aux actions entreprises. De nos résultats ressort l’importance de l’éducation sur l’accroissement de la capacité organisationnelle et, particulièrement, sur la formation et le renforcement de l’identité collective de l’organisation syndicale étudiée. Plus encore, nos résultats exposent l’interaction entre les dimensions de l’identité et de la capacité organisationnelle : précisément, nous avons observé une relation de renforcement positif entre ces deux variables. Troisièmement, nos résultats mettent de l’avant l’interaction entre les différents niveaux de transformations résultantes de sa participation à différents types de coalitions. Ainsi dans le cas observé, l’obtention de transformation au plan intraorganisationnel permet à rebours d’obtenir des transformations au plan extraorganisationnel et vice-versa. Finalement, le contexte répressif des Philippines et les objectifs de l’organisation syndicale étudiée apparaissent favorables à son choix de se coaliser à différents niveaux (local, régional, national et international). / This research aims to survey the crisis, which affects the effectiveness and action-readiness of labor unions around the world. It portrays crisis elements happening at the economic, political and social levels, thus exposing the necessity of implementing union renewal. The research puts the focus on how coalitions might be one of the many key elements to this revitalization. It evaluates the influence of identity and organizational capacity on choosing whether to coalesce, while taking into account the specific union objectives and the national context in which it operates. The research has been conducted in a trade union organization based in the Philippines. The empirical data used in the research comes from 24 semi-structured interviews with representatives from one of the largest labor union in the country, representatives from non-union allies to this organization, and other actors not directly involved with the trade union organization under study. First, the results show that a strong societal, collective identity influences the choice of this union organization to join coalitions. Collective identity is also a fundamental element to better understand the orientation of the collective action displayed by this organization. Second, our results also suggest that a strong and visionary organizational capacity influences positively the choice of joining a coalition, since the union is reputed by then to be better-equipped to identify opportunities to act differently, to elaborate strategies of union renewal, and to ensure that these actions are properly understood and legitimized by the rank-and-file members. Our case study also demonstrates the importance of education for increasing organizational capacity, especially when it comes to collective identity formation and empowerment. Furthermore, our findings confirm the interaction between identity and organizational capacity: specifically, we observe a positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between the two variables. Third, our results reveal the interaction between the different levels of transformations resulting from the participation in coalitions. In fact, our case study shows that intraorganizational transformation leads to extraorganizational transformation and vice-versa. Lastly, our study shows that the combined effect of the repressive context of the Philippines and the specific objectives of the interviewed labor union seem to support its decision to coalesce at different (local, regional, national and international) levels.