The meaning and making of union delegate networks

Abstract

Networks are a subject of growing research interest. Yet union networks, particularly networks of delegates, and ways to build them, are still poorly understood. This is a study of the meaning that workplace union delegates assign to networks of support. It explores the characteristics of effective delegate and union networks and influences upon them. Effective networks are a combination of strong and weak ties, such that delegates sometimes do not recognise they are part of a network. Our three-stage research methodology involved delegate focus groups, a paper-based self-completion questionnaire of recently trained delegates (N = 473) and a follow-up telephone survey (N = 145). It found that organisers were key to creation of internal workplace networks (although they did not necessarily establish them) and in providing a bridge for delegates with external networks. They were the key support person for many delegates. Networks took a variety of forms. Only a minority were formalised. A majority were mainly internal to the workplace. Social media were rarely used, with little intention of using them more, and were, we suspect, underutilised. JEL codes: J51

Coffee and cigarettes in industrial relations: A comparative network analysis of the role of informality

“…In the case of industrial relations studies, the network has been referred mostly as a theoretical framework or as a metaphor (Saundry et al, 2012;Fichter and Sydow, 2012), or even approaching theoretically to industrial relations as a hypercyclically constituted network of organizations (Rogowski, 2000). But few of them have applied the methodology in a systematic way, for example analyzing patterns of trade union recruitment and affiliation in Spain (Roca, 2016) or studying union delegate networks in Australia (Peetz et al, 2015). However, when it comes to analysing the network relations underpinning collective bargaining, we find several references to the network idea in transnational or cross-border collective bargaining (Gollbach and Schulten, 2000;Schulten, 2003) but hardly anything when it comes to collective bargaining at national level, with honorably exceptions (Öberg and Svensson 2002;Svensson and Öberg, 2005) exploring which actors are the most influential in labor market policy and mechanisms of coordination, paying particular attention to trust and power.…”