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State of the Union: An Assessment of Union Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

R. Lambert
R. Lambert*
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Relations, University of Western Australia
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Abstract

Accelerating global economic change reflected in the high degree of capital mobility and integrated global markets has intensified investment competition between states. The union movement reacted through a commitment to strategic unionism and award restructuring. However, the impact of the latter has been limited by the occupationally divided structure of Australian unions. The paper analyses attempts to change this structure through union amalgamations and considers the impact inter-union power struggles, shaped by factional alignments, have had on the process. The paper assesses the organizational problems of conglomerate unionism and evaluates possible counters to likely tendencies.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , December 1991 , pp. 1 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1991

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