The past fifteen years have been difficult for the labor movements in industrial countries. Gary N. Chaison addresses questions implicit in the decline of unions in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand: How and why do labor unions merge under pressure? What role do mergers play in the unions' strategies to deal with membership losses, management opposition, and hostile governments? Are there distinctive national profiles of union mergers? Chaison begins by describing the dynamics of the union merger process as large unions combine with each other in amalgamations, as small unions are absorbed into larger ones, and as local unions affiliate into nationals. He discusses the reasons for mergers, the barriers to consolidation, and the problems of integration which may result. The five chapters that follow are arranged in order of increasing intensity in merger activity, ranging from the United States, where interest in mergers is growing, to New Zealand, where changing legislation has catalyzed an enormous wave of mergers. For each of the five countries considered, Chaison characterizes the industrial relations climate and merger record since 1980, explains landmark mergers, identifies the antecedents, and assesses the chances that a sudden flood of mergers will occur. The final chapter compares the national profiles, extrapolating the significant differences and common threads. Chaison concludes that while mergers can play a critical role in revitalizing labor movements and building the dominant unions of the future, they are not necessarily solving the fundamental economic and political problems that plague unions.

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations is a refereed research volume published annually or biannually.

This provocative book by the leading historian of the National Labor Relations Board offers a reexamination of the NLRB and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by applying internationally accepted human rights principles as standards for judgment. These new standards challenge every orthodoxy in U.S. labor law and labor relations. James A. Gross argues that the NLRA was and remains at its core a workers’ rights statute. Gross shows how value clashes and choices between those who interpret the NLRA as a workers’ rights statute and those who contend that the NLRA seeks only a "balance" between the economic interests of labor and management have been major influences in the evolution of the board and the law. Gross contends, contrary to many who would write its obituary, that the NLRA is not dead. Instead he concludes with a call for visionary thinking, which would include, for example, considering the U.S. Constitution as a source of workers’ rights. Rights, Not Interests will appeal to labor activists and those who are trying to reform our labor laws as well as scholars and students of management, human resources, and industrial relations.

This collection of original essays offers an inside view of the current state of American unions. Most of the contributors are prominent activists in the AFL-CIO, and their writings assess the state of the movement in the late 1990s.

From gloomy times in the 1980s, the American labor movement has returned to apparent prominence through the efforts of a new generation of energetic and progressive leaders. A distinguished group of authors examines this resurgence and the potential of American unions with sympathetic yet critical eyes. Experts from a wide variety of disciplines—industrial relations, political science, economics, and sociology—identify the central developments, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the new initiatives, and assess the progress made and the prospects for the future. Though all agree on the importance of unions, their opinions of the success of current renewal efforts diverge greatly. The interdisciplinary and comparative approach of Rekindling the Movement is both challenging and enlightening. Rather than merely trumpeting pet opinions, contributors provide hard evidence and causal analysis, grounded in realistic perspectives, to back up suggestions for the improvement of the new labor movement. Their straightforward observations about what is and is not possible, what does and does not work, will be of great practical value for policymakers and union leaders.

For the 2007 Edition, leading authorities in over 24 specialized areas review and comment on key issues nationwide, with detailed outlines and summaries of cases, legislation, trends, and developments. Use the Annual Review for updates in your specialty area, when you are asked to consider issues that cross over multiple areas of specialty, or to give an initial reaction to a new situation.

The result of changing styles and fickle customers on the textile and fashion industry has traditionally been costly markdowns and stock shortages. This book examines how technological advances changed the situation in the 1980s and enabled the introduction of "lean retailing."