Why American engineers aren't unionized: A comparative perspective

Meiksins, Peter; Smith, Chris

doi:10.1007/bf00993448

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Whalley, 1984, 1986; Zussman, 1985). Other studies focused on the organization and status of engineering work (Meiksins and Smith, 1992, 1993) or on ‘engineering culture’ (Kunda, 1992) without making gender part of the analysis.…”

Section: Research On Gender and Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond ‘Gender Differences’: A Canadian Study of Women's and Men's Careers in Engineering

Ranson¹

2003

Gender Work & Organization

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This article explores the relationship between gender and career paths for a group of women and men who graduated as engineers during a period of labour market turbulence in western Canada during the 1980s. Using a model adapted from Brown (1982), the article uses 'career path' as a device to organize data drawn primarily from telephone and face-to-face interviews with 317 graduates. Three career paths provide the focus for the study: the 'organizational', characterized by stable employment with one employer; the 'occupational', characterized by mobility between employers; and the entrepreneurial, characterized by self-employment. The use of the career path framework moves the study beyond global comparisons (of the dichotomized 'gender differences' kind) between 'the women' and 'the men'. As well as allowing for comparison between the paths, it allows more refined and contextualized comparisons within each path. Such comparisons produce patterns of similarity and difference that sometimes transcend gender.

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Section: Research On Gender and Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond ‘Gender Differences’: A Canadian Study of Women's and Men's Careers in Engineering

Ranson¹

2003

Gender Work & Organization

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“…For example, in 1971, the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) passed a resolution asserting that “membership in a trade union is the antithesis of professional status for pharmacists” (quoted in McHugh and Bodah 2002: 661). Pharmacists were only one profession of many that believed unions to be unprofessional or contrary to professional ideals 4 (for a discussion about organizing among social workers, see Alexander 1980; for a similar discussion regarding engineers, see Meiksins and Smith 1993).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lawrence Richards wrote, “If there was any segment of the work force for which America’s antiunion culture had its greatest impact in impeding organized labor’s ability to expand it was among white-collar professionals” (2008: 150). Organizing professional workers has been, and remains to be, a stated challenge for labor leaders, with such workers being called “difficult or impossible to organize” (Meiksins and Smith 1993: 58).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What Professionals Want: Union and Employer Tactics in Representation Elections of Professional Workers

Aleks

2018

ILR Review

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Using matched data from an original survey administered to organizers throughout the United States and election reports from the National Labor Relations Board, the author analyzes organizing campaigns of professional and non-professional workers. Professional workers have long been thought of as difficult to organize, yet they are strategically important to unions given their growing numbers in today’s economy. The author assesses whether unions and employers use different approaches in their organizing drives for professionals. An interactive model is used to test whether professionals’ distinct identity moderates the effect of common determinants of a representation election on the election outcome. The results show the benefit of an interactive model, as it highlights the importance of developing a campaign strategy unique to the group being organized.

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“…Definitions of the engineer in NIE and ESB reflect the differences between the models followed in the two organisations. Meiksins and Smith (1991) describe four models in the development of engineerscraft, estate, managerial and corporatist. The first three are relevant to this article.…”

Section: Aodh 6 Canainn Management Training Consultantmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herr Ingenieur or the Grease‐Monkey? How the Managerial Prospects of Engineers are Perceived

Canainn¹

1995

Human Res Mgmt Journal

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The work roles considered appropriate to an occupational group are determined by its status in the organisation. Status depends on how group members are perceived. the article shows that perceptions of engineers as managers derive from the way the company defines the profession by qualifications required and the boundary established between it and other technical employees. the test of engineers’ power is ability to survive a decline in the strategic importance of engineering in the company. Survival is assured by the engineer's development of generalist abilities rather than specialist ones.

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Why American engineers aren't unionized: A comparative perspective

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Beyond ‘Gender Differences’: A Canadian Study of Women's and Men's Careers in Engineering

Beyond ‘Gender Differences’: A Canadian Study of Women's and Men's Careers in Engineering

What Professionals Want: Union and Employer Tactics in Representation Elections of Professional Workers

Herr Ingenieur or the Grease‐Monkey? How the Managerial Prospects of Engineers are Perceived

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