Review

Reversing Union Decline

By Grant Michelson - lecturer, Department of Industrial Relations, University of Sydney

A leading labour thinkers asks: how do we turn back the membership tide?

Review of David Peetz, Unions in a Contrary World: The Future of the Australian Trade Union Movement, Cambridge University Press, 1998, (pbk), $34.95.

During the 1980s and 1990s the Australian union movement experienced a substantial decline in union density. The decline was significant, both in historical terms and when compared with other industrialised nations.

David Peetz, one of Australia�s leading academic commentators on contemporary union membership issues, sets out to unravel the causes for the decline, paying particular attention to such matters as changing structural features of the labour market, inimical government laws which have witnessed the erosion of collective bargaining and the concomitant ascendancy of individual bargaining arrangements, the role of the Accord, and more aggressive employer strategies. Peetz regards a change in employer and federal/state governments strategies as the most critical, precipitating what he labels a �paradigm shift� or "institutional break" in the determinants of Australian union membership.

This development is not to suggest, however, that the explanation for the decline in union density is simply external to trade union organisations. Rather, and here he pulls no punches, Peetz believes that in some cases union under-performance has contributed to the problem. For instance, where unions have failed to prevent the implementation of employer strategies. We are now in a position to introduce the central thesis of the book: that union membership is determined by changes in the environment and/or strategies of the major players (employers, governments, unions) and by the way in which these players (including unions) respond to such changes. In other words, union decline is by no means inevitable. This �change-response� model of union membership is portrayed graphically on page 18. While the model includes a comprehensive range of macro, meso and micro factors to illustrate the range of forces affecting union membership, the model is far too convoluted, almost to the point of making it meaningless. Many for whom the book would be of real interest (union officers) will, like the reviewer, find the model equally difficult to access.

Notwithstanding the impressive level of research undertaken, Peetz constantly moves between different data sources throughout Unions in a Contrary World making it difficult for the reader to �keep up�. In addition, the presentation of figures containing statistical information seemed to be excessive. This reviewer confesses to periods of boredom while reading the book.

Problems with the general presentation and the quantitative quagmire in the book (for example, Chapter 2 entitled "Joining and Leaving Unions") should not detract from the many positives it does offer. There is a particularly interesting chapter on unions within the workplace (Chapter 6). Some important findings are that unions can arrest declining memberships by having workplace delegates, by unions rather than workers engaging in bargaining with managements and through successful cases of industrial action where this course of action was deemed necessary. In addition, factors that appear to explain effective recruitment efforts in non-union workplaces are discussed. On union amalgamations the author�s conclusion is unlikely to satisfy either proponents or opponents of the recent restructuring policy: "overall it probably has not had a great deal of impact one way or the other".

Chapter 7 presents one of the best analyses of the Accord and Post-Accord periods that I have come across. It was insightful and provides a substantial contribution to the on-going debate about the role played by such corporatist ventures for the Australian labour movement. If anything, it was spoiled by a digression into an account of the labour situation in New Zealand. Drawing a number of threads together, the concluding chapter entitled "The Future for Australian Unions" was also very good and raises a number of important issues for consideration by union officers. For example, it throws doubt on the benefit of non-traditional union services in the membership recovery process - something that many unions have (unfortunately?) embraced.

As a note of encouragement, the chapter also notes sympathy towards unions has been increasing.

Overall, this is an important book which seeks to understand the membership problems facing Australian unions. It is contemporary in content and offers a number of useful ideas for scholars, policy makers, and union officers to ponder and further distil.

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  Issue 25 contents

»	Unions Embrace Open Shop
»	Council Sets Benchmarks for Vizard Deal
»	Steggles Treats Workers Like Chooks
»	Rail Workers on Collision Course with Carr
»	Reith Shamed Into Talk On Entitlement Fund
»	Unionists Asked to Defer NRMA Vote
»	Fire Fighters Use Net
»	Crew of Convenience Behind Sydney Oil Spill?
»	Sixty Junkets Join Currawong Hit Squad
»	Workers Table Petition for Gay Reform
»	Indonesian Trade Union Leaders to Visit Australia
»	International And Community Groups Oppose Reith�s Bill

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Country Labor Asks Question
»	The Ombudsman Replies
»	Confessions of a German Call Centre Agent
»	WorkCover Off the Track

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