Leadership and Its Consequences: Technical Change in the Longshore Industry

Waters, Robert C.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-232x.1993.tb01031.x

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…This is characterized by a refusal of the union to accept management-initiated workplace change. Little or no negotiation takes place, and the parties are brought to impasse, with either management forced to retract its initial proposal (see Waters 1993) or the union forced to strike (see Walton et al 1994). This response is motivated by the union's desire to preserve the power and benefits the status quo provides its members -whether this be wages, jobs or conditions of employment.…”

Section: A Reconceptualization Of Local Union Responsesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Reconceptualizing Local Union Responses to Workplace Restructuring in North America

Frost

2001

Brit J Industrial Rel

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To date no clear consensus has emerged about how industrial relations scholars ought to conceptualize union responses to workplace restructuring. Yet, local union responses to management-initiated workplace change can differ markedly and can have important implications for the outcomes of restructuring. This study examines the experiences of three local unions engaged in workplace restructuring in the North American steel industry and suggests a reconceptualization of local union responses, away from a simple 'militant'-'cooperative' dichotomy towards a conceptualization based on the process by which local unions engage with management over restructuring. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2001.

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Section: A Reconceptualization Of Local Union Responsesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Reconceptualizing Local Union Responses to Workplace Restructuring in North America

Frost

2001

Brit J Industrial Rel

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“…Economic conditions convinced not only the ILWU leadership but also the rank and file (who shared the costs of declining traffic as a result of low-person out-hiring) that a new approach was called for. Leadership was the second crucial factor, most notably that of Harry Bridges, founding president of the ILWU (see Fairley 1979;Larrowe 1977;Waters 1993). Equally important was the new approach adopted by the employers, who at last "discovered personnel administration" (Kerr and Fisher 1949:20).…”

Section: Britain Bmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…11 As the chairman of the New York Shipping Association complained in 1971, "We are suffering from an unconscionable abuse of the guaranteed annual income, and we will not be able to halt the flight of maritime business to other ports unless the malady is checked" (New York Times, April 3, 1971). Whereas the PGP cost the West Coast employers around $6 to $8 million per year, the GAI cost over $20 million (see Waters 1993).…”

Section: Containerization and Industrial Conflictmentioning

confidence: 98%

Hitting the Bricks: An International Comparative Study of Conflict on the Waterfront

Turnbull

Sapsford

2001

Industrial Relations

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Although many longshoremen have a deserved reputation for militancy, the waterfront has been remarkably peaceful in some countries. The propensity of longshoremen to strike is explored in a historical and international comparative context, looking beyond industry-level variables to determine the nature and causes of industrial action. The incidence of strikes on the waterfront depended ultimately on the propriety of labor regulation, most notably the operation of different "dock labor schemes" in combination with union leadership, management policy, and the efficacy of dispute resolution procedures.

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“…A more recent theme in the study of longshoremen has been the impact of port technology and the ability of employers to introduce new equipment and operating practices. Labor contracts have often included language that set conditions and requirement for performing specific tasks (5). The specification of gang size at terminals has been a particularly sensitive topic in negotiations between employers and longshoremen unions.…”

Section: Current Issues Facing Longshoremenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They suggest that globalization in the maritime and port industries has yet to signal a convergence of industrial relations in that sector. Some researchers studying the industry have chronicled the relationship between employers and longshoremen's unions throughout the past century (5). Unions have adopted a variety of means to achieve their objectives, ranging from negotiations and cooperative agreements to strikes and work stoppages.…”

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confidence: 99%

Trends in Global Port Operations and Their Influence on Port Labor

Laventhal

Theofanis

Boilé

2010

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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The port industry has undergone substantial structural changes during the past 15 years. The emergence of global terminal operators, global oligopolistic market consolidation, vertical and horizontal integration of liner shipping, and the new structure of global production networks in relation to emerging technologies are only a few of the factors that have fundamentally influenced port labor. Ports are no longer isolated functional nodes of the transportation chain, but are a fundamental component of a seamless supply chain, working along with satellite and inland terminals. At the same time, marine terminals sometimes function as extended warehouses, providing flexible virtual inventory. These developments have created substantial challenges to port labor, including the need for upgraded working skills, enhanced productivity, and the ability to adopt flexible working conditions. Unionized port labor has been traditionally highly inflexible in changing attitudes and adapting to new port work practices. In contrast, the explosion of port service demand in emerging economies, particularly in East Asia, was followed by an unprecedented increase in port productivity, coupled by flexibility in port working practices that cannot be accepted by unionized port labor in the United States and Europe. This paper examines some of the current challenges and implications for the U.S. East Coast port labor force—the International Longshoremen's Association—due to global developments in international trade and global port operations. It proposes that future research incorporate a broad range of disciplines in order to understand the competitive environment facing longshoremen better.

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Leadership and Its Consequences: Technical Change in the Longshore Industry

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Reconceptualizing Local Union Responses to Workplace Restructuring in North America

Reconceptualizing Local Union Responses to Workplace Restructuring in North America

Hitting the Bricks: An International Comparative Study of Conflict on the Waterfront

Trends in Global Port Operations and Their Influence on Port Labor

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