Information Technology, US Union Organizing and Union Effectiveness

Abstract

???The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com '. Copyright Blackwell Publishing. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8543.00250 [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]This paper examines the effects of information technology (IT) on organizing and union effectiveness in US national unions. Original survey data and data from government and independent sources are combined to model outcomes including membership growth, success in representation elections, and union leaders??? assessments of effectiveness as a product of environmental and organizational characteristics. The results suggest that the practical impact of IT use on organizing outcomes can be quite important. Evidence regarding the impact of IT on overall effectiveness (i.e. organizational or union effectiveness) is more mixed

E‐Communications: An Aspect of Union Renewal or Merely Doing Things Electronically?

“…In practice, trade unions now employ information technology to assist negotiations, in relations with employers, as an internal administrative tool, in organizing campaigns, as a communications medium with members, and in developing and sustaining global institutions such as world works councils (Fiorito et al . ; Pliskin et al . ; Shostack ).…”

“…While some have argued that information technology will be used by managers to communicate directly with employees and thus to bypass unions as intermediary organizations (Castells 1997;Grossman 1995) or that the use of information technology will have adverse effects on the commitment of workers to trade unions (Chaison 2002), others view information technology as being central to long-term union renewal and adaptation to changed circumstances (Darlington 2004;Lee 1997;Shostack 1999). In practice, trade unions now employ information technology to assist negotiations, in relations with employers, as an internal administrative tool, in organizing campaigns, as a communications medium with members, and in developing and sustaining global institutions such as world works councils (Fiorito et al 2002;Pliskin et al 1997;Shostack 1999). The use by trade union representatives of smart phones is now almost ubiquitous, as 24/7 contact and electronic media become prerequisite to trade union operations.…”

Submerged discontent and patterns of accommodation: a case study of doctors' pay in two public hospitals in China

“…Locally, the CMDA is affiliated to the health authorities so that it has administrative support from hospitals (Cao, ); therefore, management may provide financial support for doctors' CMDA training or conference activities. Membership expansion provides the CMDA with more collective power, because to achieve greater outcomes, unions need greater resources such as financial capital and human or physical capital (Fiorito et al ., : 634).…”

“…Another important function for the CMDA is to help doctors to advance their skills and status through training and further education programmes. In general, educating members is ‘an important step in fostering the collectivist outlook that is often a critical precursor to unionization’ (Fiorito et al ., : 630). Training is a potentially powerful vehicle to transform unions into more inclusive organizations with the ability to conceptualize a broader set of collective interests (Kirton and Healey, : 320).…”

Constraints on union organising in the United Kingdom

“…Many of the campaigns on which they worked were small scale, low key and relatively informal. The level of union resource committed to organising and use of information and communications technology have been identified as significant determinants of organising success (Bronfenbrenner and Hickey, 2004; Fiorito et al ., 2002). In a proportion of cases, provision of these elements to trainee organisers was clearly less than ideal, reflecting the limited resources of UK unions more generally.…”