Trades Unions and the Organisation Ofthe Unemployed

Trying to Stem the Flow: Union Membership Turnover in the Public Sector

“…This result confirms earlier research showing that unions in the UK are unable to retain the unemployed because union services and activity are directed almost exclusively towards the employed (Barker et al 1984;Lewis 1989). On this issue the key variable is industry.…”

Hysteresis and the European Unemployment Problem

“…But this tells us little about the question of in whose interest the union actually acts. A study of the unemployed and the unions in the United Kingdom (Barker et al 1984) gives some information. It finds that, while laid-off workers are officially encouraged to remain in the union and have their union fees waived, they do not, for the most part, see reasons to stay in the union.27 This provides support for the idea that the union cares mostly about the currently employed.…”

‘Investment’ in Union Membership: A Managerial Approach

“…See also Booth (1985) and Naylor (1989) who, building on the framework of Akerlof (1980), use social customs models to address the issue of endogenous union membership. 3 The view that there is a link between union membership and employment has been pointed out by, for example, Booth (1983), Barker et al (1984), and Kidd and Oswald (1987). In Sweden during the recession years 1992-95, membership in the central blue-collar union (LO) fell by 48,000 members (Statistical Yearbook of Sweden, 1994-1997.…”