Darlington, Ralph (1991) The dynamics of shop steward organisation, activity and consciousness : the experience of three Merseyside manufacturing plants between the late 1960s and early 1990s. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Enpirical case study analysis of shop steward
organisation within three specific manufacturing plants in Merseyside has
been conducted with the aim of contributing to an understanding of the
dynamics of steward organisation, activity and consciousness within British
manufacturing industry more generally. This involves not merely a snap-shot
of contemporary developments but an historical overview of the past 20
years that will be of relevance to an understanding of potential future
trends. Methods of data collection include extensive interviews - with shop
stewards, union members, managers and full-time union officials - analysis
of documentary evidence and personal observation. The research is informed
by a Marxist analytical framework, namely that there is a contradiction in
the nature of workplace trade unionism - between conflict and acconinodation
in stewards' relationship to management, between democracy and bureaucracy
in stewards' relationship to rank and file members and between independence
and dependence in stewards' relationship to full-time union officials.
Because the balance struck between these interrelated and overlapping
tendencies varies, depending on the level of workers' confidence, activity
and militancy vis-a-vis management, an evaluation is made of the different
'micro-level' factors which affect the balance of bargaining power in each
workplace and of the way these are located within the much broader 'macrolevel'
social, economic and political context of the changing balance of
class forces in society, with a contrast being drawn between the broad
upturn in workers' struggles during the 1970s and the downturn of the
1980g . A central concern is a critique of Eric Batstone's 'strong
bargaining relations' model of pragmatic shop steward organisation, which,
as the case studies illustrate, merely serves to reinforce the limitations
and compromises of workplace trade unionism within capitalist society. The
distinctive potential role of revolutionary socialist organisatlon and
leadership is posed as a vital missing element.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Shop stewards -- England -- Merseyside -- History -- 20th century, Manufacturing industries -- England -- Merseyside -- History -- 20th century
Official Date:	August 1991
Dates:	Date Event August 1991 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Hyman, Richard ; Elger, Tony, 1946-
Extent:	[9], 390, [27] leaves
Language:	eng

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