Extended Networks: A Vision for the Next Generation Unions

Abstract

Union membership and collective bargaining coverage have declined dramatically in the U.S. to the point where there is a serious question of whether unions can now, or in the future, serve the functions American workers and society expect of them. Yet, most of us who are grounded in the values and traditions of the field of industrial relations continue to believe in the need for and value of unions. So do 75 per cent of the American public² and at least some thoughtful leaders in the business community.³ History tells us, however, that unions are only successful when they adapt to and match up well with the structure of the economy, employer organisational forms, and the preferences and needs of the work-force. Given the significant changes in these features of the economy and society, it is obvious that unions have a tall order in store. This paper develops a view of what we believe American unions need to do if they are to be significant players in today’s and tomorrow’s labour markets and economy. We propose that the next generation unions⁴ view and position themselves as networked institutions that enroll, represent, and provide services to workers on a continuous life-long basis beginning when they are in school and about to enter the labour market, throughout their careers, and into their retirement years.⁵ This view of unions is part of a larger set of institutional changes we see as necessary for updating America’s labour market institutions and policies to catch up with changes in the workforce, nature of work and economy.

This paper is drawn from Chapter 4 of Paul Osterman, Thomas Kochan, Richard Locke, and Michael Piore, Working in America: A Blueprint for Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.