Business unionism has been in existence since 1800s, it focuses on wages and working conditions. Management retains right to manage with unchallenged authority since 1940.There had been changes to to the global economic system, business practices labor force and technology.Labor unions focus on strategies for representing workers and not so much on how how work is organized. Table 10--1,page 359 is the work organization time line.One of the work organization method in the 20th century is mass production based on scientific management.Unions contended with preserving management rights of having sole authority on management functions of hiring and firing.Unions also contended with narrow job classifications with minimal employee decisions.After the second world war, job control unionism grew, it seeks to protect workers against favoritism and management abuse of rewards and job allocation.Unions embraced seniority as a means of determining lay offs,promotions and transfers.Unions favored wage rates to job classifications instead of perceptions of individual performance.Job control unionism is also about justice in the work place through wages that are based on jobs instead of unfair manipulations piece rates. I the 21st century,scientific management and job control unionism came under fire and were replaced with team oriented work structures,job rotation,cross training and job enrichment.See table 10--2, page 364.

In the 1970s, international competition became very tense in several industries.It became necessary for management to seek the understanding and cooperation of workers and unions in decision making. The result is employee involvement.This was followed by high performance work systems of lean production and self directed work teams. See labor relations debates over lean production and self directed work teams on page 366--367.Employee involvement ultimately led to labor-- management partnerships, page 367-370..This partnership was a challenge for unions because unions, in addition to fulfilling the roles of unions, have to develop skills for partnering with management In most cases in labor management partnerships, employees work with management without unions, the result was employee-dominated non union committees.Page 371.We are in the era of fissured workplace, a divided work place comprising regular employees,employees from staffing agencies,some working for contractors,while some are themselves independent contractors, in addition to seasonal and part time workers.I is not uncommon for management to play off one group over the others as they compete and underbid each other.Other changes and challenges facing unions today includes representing workers in a Gig economy where workers are mostly independent contractors.The future of work has also changed as a result of automation, this also is a challenge to labor.

QUESTIONS:

1 Discuss the advantages and dis advantages of job control unionism.

2 Do you support labor -management partnerships?Discuss your reasons.