Unions in a Contrary World
The Future of the Australian Trade Union Movement

This book explains the decline in trade union participation, looking at both macro and micro levels.

David Peetz (Author)

9780521630559, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 November 1998

256 pages, 11 b/w illus. 23 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.55 kg

'Peetz's work will undoubtedly serve as a major focus for debates concerning unions and developments in Australian industrial relations.' Braham Dabscheck, Labour History

Australia once had extremely high levels of trade union participation, yet since the 1970s the number of union members has been falling dramatically. This book gives the clearest picture yet of why people do or do not belong to unions and, in a sophisticated way, examines the reasons for union decline. Uniquely, it considers both the macro and micro levels, looking at the structure of the economy and the labour market, the relations between unions and employees, the ideological dispositions people have towards unionism, the role of the state and the political and industrial strategies of unions. The author highlights the importance of structural and strategic changes in determining the direction of union membership. This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of union decline, and its implications, and presents a range of strategies for reversing this downturn.

Introduction
1. Patterns and issues in union decline
2. Joining and leaving
3. Sympathy for unions
4. Structural change in the labour market
5. The institutional break in union membership
6. Within the workplace
7. The Accord and the post-Accord industrial relations order
8. The future for Australian unions
Appendices.

Subject Areas: Trade unions [KNXB2]