How Do Shop Stewards Perceive Their Situation and Tasks? Preconditions for Support of Union Work

Abstract

When unions world-wide confront a decline in density and

Using Activity Theory in system development for entire organisations: the case of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation

“…The findings have been presented in more detail elsewhere, in the studies referred to [22, 25,26]. The main activity system of shop stewards is summarised in Fig.…”

“…These, recurring in the questionnaire and at the design meetings, are multiple. The most important are formal negotiations, being an informant, personal conflict management, arguing for union values, and continuous knowledge acquisition [26]. The activity system of shop stewards is yet but one of an abundance making up the LO organisation.…”

The economic crisis: Testing employee relations

“…Some Canadian and British studies argue that shop stewards seek a more collaborative approach in times of economic recession and tend to varying degrees to distance themselves from their colleagues with the risk of losing legitimacy among fellow employees (Darlington, 1994; Pupo and White, 1994). Others conclude that the relations between shops stewards and colleagues and how employee interests are represented in company based bargaining remain unchanged during distinct economic situations (Pilemalm et al, 2001: 573). By contrast, Rigby and Smith (1999) find that colleagues often question the work of shop stewards during periods of economic growth, whilst their support typically reappears when the economic situation changes and negotiations with management get tough.…”

The impact of participation in information system design

“…Representatives from LO, and 17 of LO's at the time, 18 affiliates, in collaboration with teachers from a trade union folk high school and researchers from Linköping University participated in the project. In one strand of the project, a UCD prototype was developed, based on data collected from a critical incident study [20] and from a future workshop with shop stewards from six of LO's affiliations. The needs that were collected resulted in design sketches that were iteratively developed into a Lo-Fi prototype [16] as an example of how IT solutions may provide support for shop stewards' needs for education, information, and communication among themselves as well as between shop stewards and higher levels of the organization.…”