Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label alternative union systems

The Use of Work-Councils among Declining Unionization

Union decline is continuing throughout the county based in political, economic, and cultural changes. As alternative models to traditional unionized environments a management based system appears to be favored by employees. According to a paper from Goddard and Fredge (2013) from Cornell University, a management based system has positive employee impression in much the same way as traditional unionization. Yet when bureaucracy makes its way into these systems their effectiveness is diminished.  As unions decline some have argued that a management vacuum has been created that has been filled in part by legal changes as well as some employer modifications. However, there is a possibility that new models of democratic management may come forward that balance the needs of workers and their employer. Through the use and development of formal employee participation structures it may be possible to implement union alternatives. Work-councils or management-established systems give