SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration
No 2005:11:
Exploring Union Organising During Corporate Mergers
Peter Hyllman and Oskar Gunnarsson
Abstract: This paper explores local union organising in the context
of corporate mergers which have become increasingly common. Through a
multiple case study of 14 cases between 1995 and 2002, we find that unions
in eleven cases organise themselves unilaterally, locally and mainly around
strategic and advisory activities during corporate mergers. Thus, unions
seem reluctant to adapt their own formal structures to the corporate
changes. Our study reveals that most unions are dissatisfied with the
effects of the corporate merger as a result of loosing formal
representation as well as perceived influence. In three of our cases,
unions have been able to maintain or increase formal representation as well
as perceived influence and are consequently satisfied with the merger. In
each of these three cases, the unions chose to cooperate and integrative
forms of organising. One preliminary conclusion of this study is that
unions suffer from corporate mergers partly as a result of organising
ineffectively during these mergers. As national and institutional
differences are found insufficient to fully explain these findings, further
studies are needed to explain why unions organise themselves in any given
way during corporate mergers.
Keywords: Union; transnational corporation; industrial relations; co-determination; corporate democracy; (follow links to similar papers)
12 pages, October 20, 2005
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