Strategies for Union Growth In Food Manufacturing and Agriculture

The labor force and employment conditions in agriculture differ considerably from those in food manufacturing. Furthermore, unionization in agriculture is at an embryonic stage, while in food manufacturing it is well established. Because of these dissimilarities prospects for union growth are not the same and the two industries are treated separately below

The Two Faces of Unionism

Our research demonstrates that the view of unions as organizations whose chief function is to raise wages is seriously misleading. For in addition to raising wages, unions have significant non-wage effects which influence diverse aspects of modern industrial life. By providing workers with a voice both at the workplace and in the political arena, unions can and do affect positively the functioning of the economic and social systems. Although our research on the non-wage effects of trade unions is by no means complete and some results will surely change as more evidence becomes available, enough work has been done to yield the broad outlines of a new view of unionism.

Accounting For The Decline in Union Membership

Since the early 50s, the percent of the workforce organized by unions has declined considerably. In the most recent decade that rate of decline has accelerated sharply. In an attempt to discover what factors can account for the overall decline and the further deterioration during the 70s, we decompose the sources of growth and decline to determine the relative importance of changes in organizing activity, success in certification elections, decertifications, and net growth due to economic causes. We find that all factors except decertifications account for a substantial part of the change. In addition, interactions between the factors are very important. A significant finding is that while organizing activity and success rates have been declining over time, the net growth (or loss) of membership due to economic causes has remained stable controlling for the aggregate level of economic activity. We argue that this finding is inconsistent with the prevailing view that the decline in the percent of the workforce organized is primarily due to the decline of the heavily unionized core industries.

The production of school numbers (1871-1931): contributions to a critical approach to statistical sources in History of Education

O presente artigo pretende contribuir para a reflexão acerca das estatísticas educacionais como fonte para as pesquisas em História da Educação. Buscou-se aqui, principalmente, desvelar a maneira pela qual foram produzidas, no âmbito central, as estatísticas educacionais referentes ao período de 1871 a 1931. Foram analisados relatórios oficiais - da Diretoria Geral de Estatística - e repertórios estatísticos editados por aquela repartição, onde se buscou localizar as recomendações e definições para a realização dos trabalhos. Pretendeu-se, problematizando as fontes documentais de estatística educacional e suas interpretações mais comuns, diminuir o desconhecimento sobre a origem de números escolares, que, eventualmente, são utilizados em pesquisas atuais sem o conveniente exame crítico.Abstract This article intends to contribute to the reflection on the Educational Statistics as being source for the researches on History of Education. The main concern was to reveal the way Educational Statistics related to the period from 1871 to 1931 were produced, in central government. Official reports - from the General Statistics Directory - and Statistics yearbooks released by that department were analyzed and, on this analysis, recommendations and definitions to perform the works were sought. By rending problematic to the documental issues on Educational Statistics and their usual interpretations, the intention was to reduce the ignorance about the origin of the school numbers, which are occasionally used in current researches without the convenient critical exam

Social Networking Individual vs. Crowd Behavior (Connected Intelligence)

The study of Human behavior is much more complicated in various situations, especially on the spectrum of Social Networks. The study of individual behavior cannot be replicated for a group/crowd behavior which can have many social and behavioral dimensions. In the connected world where intelligence is shared among individuals and groups, there exists another kind of complexity which needs to be examined.The complexity of human behaviors as an individual or as a group on the social networks is much more versatile and erratic. The research work studies and analyzes these behaviors in a connected networked intelligent environment and as to how these behaviors are reflected towards Connected Intelligence. Consequently it defines how they can affect the intelligent analytical outcomes. Finally it comes up with a generic model which can be applied in any setup

Food policy and politics. The political economy of the Public Distribution System in India

Abstract This paper discusses the history and political economy of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India. This food distribution programme, which dates from 1939, is meant to increase food security both at the national and the household level. Since its emergence, it has passed through several phases, the latest one starting in 1991 when India introduced a Structural Adjustment Programme. From a social constructivist perspective, this paper aims to understand a) the most important features of this system in the various phases of its history, b) the social processes that led to the emergence and subsequent development of distribution policy and c) the variou

Structural Changes in Unionization: 1973-1981

This paper presents a decomposition of the decline in union density into structural and within sector components using CPS data for private sector workers. We find that 58 to 68 percent of the decline in private sector unionization between 1973 and 1981 can be accounted for by structural changes in the economy, particularly in the occupational, educational and gender distribution of the workforce. This is a large impact, but we find that while structural change is important, its importance was not appreciably greate during the 1970s than during previous decades. At the same time, we find that the decline of private sector unionization within sectors has been pervasive, accounting for 32 to 42 percent of union decline. As part of this analysis we find that the decline in union density has been greater in those sectors of the economy where employment decline has been greater. This fact can help reconcile previous divergent findings on the importance of structural change.

Special Libraries, Winter 1986

Volume 77, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1986/1000/thumbnail.jp

Union Maids: Unions and the Female Workforce

How have women fared in unions in recent years? The major findings of this paper are that unions have been more beneficial for women in the public sector than in the private sector, and that unionism for women is primarily a public sector wriite collar phenomenon distinguished from that of males. According to our analysis:(1) Women have come to be an increasingly large proportion of the unionized work force, and are critical in the one area in which unions have recently succeeded --the public sector.(2) In the public sector and in white collar occupations where women unionists are concentrated, unions raise women's wages more than they raise the wages of men.(3) In the private sector unions have essentially the same effect on women in wages, turnover, employment and so forth, and do not deter affirmative action programs to raise female employment. (4) Comparable worth presents a rare confluence of interests of unions in search of members, particularly in the public sector,and women in search of higher wages, and will likely continue to be used by both especially within the confines of collective bargaining.