Shop Steward Resistance in the Recession
| Date | 01 May 1985 |
| Pages | 22-28 |
| Published date | 01 May 1985 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055061 |
| Author | Bruce Spencer |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Shop Steward
Resistance
in the Recession
by Bruce Spencer*
Department of Adult and Continuing
Education, University of Leeds
Introduction
This article is an attempt to refute the popular assertion that
the present recession has weakened workplace trade union
organisation to the extent that it is largely irrelevant or
marginal to managerial concerns. It will illustrate a type of
factory-based organisation which can not only survive in
the present climate but can also successfully resist manage-
ment attacks on it.
The recent survey by Batstone[1] supports the basic
con-
tention that steward organisation has survived more intact
than might have been expected. He argues that the literature
of the 1970s overstated the extent of steward incorpora-
tion by, and subordination to, management. The plant study
at the centre of this article does not prove Batstone's
con-
tention but will support his evidence and give a practical
illustration of the process by which shop-floor organisations
have contested management decisions.
Other writers[2] have, however, underlined increased union
inability in times of recession (and perhaps at other more
prosperous times) to thwart managerial intentions. They are
justified in pointing out that the recession has affected shop
steward bargaining power, which is in part rooted in tight
labour and production markets. Management has been able
to exploit this new situation not to eliminate steward
organisation but rather to reduce its influence and reduce
shop-floor controls. This shift of power is accompanied by
a renewed emphasis on unilateral management decision
making,
buttressed in some cases by sophisticated
strategies of workforce "involvement" which avoid genuine
negotiation[3].
However, not many writers have addressed themselves to
the question of what type of workplace organisation is
capable of affecting management intentions, and resisting
management and market forces. Shop steward organisa-
tions which can continue to exercise bargaining muscle in
the present circumstances may be contrary to the norm but
may also demonstrate that a too economistic view of the
power and resources available to stewards can conceal the
potential for challenge which exists within union organisa-
tion even within a hostile climate.
In the account which follows, it will be argued that even
though management and employers influence the develop-
ment of shop steward organisations, these organisations can
nevertheless resist attempts to weaken their power and in-
fluence. Particular attention will be paid to key elements of
such steward organisations so as to rectify what has been
identified as the "relative neglect within trade union and
labour circles of organisational forms for shop stewards"[4].
The case study will demonstrate that a workplace trade
union organisation with a proven record of achievement at
plant and company level, an active and involved member-
ship,
stable and strong leadership and good external rela-
tions,
both within the union and the industry, is still able
to fight off management attacks[5]. Links with other steward
organisations and with the official union movement will be
shown to be key elements in trade union strength when
dealing with a multi-plant, multi-product company[6].
Of course, a workplace organisation with such character-
istics would also prosper in a less hostile climate. But it can
be argued that in the 60s and 70s, other less developed,
more insular on-site organisations also prospered[4]. The
major ingredients were a reasonably high proportion of the
workforce in membership, a middle to large-sized organisa-
tion with at least a handful of representatives able to develop
some steward policies and site leadership, perhaps largely
independent of full-time officer influence[7]. However,
Purcell[8] has suggested such organisation may not create
a significant "threat" to management. While in relatively
prosperous times both forms of organisation appeared to
flourish,
the recession has revealed the greater ability of the
former to survive. This case study will indicate how unions
can continue to pose a significant "threat" causing cor-
porate management to be constrained in their decision
making.
A number of well-publicised examples have shown how
dif-
ficult it is for unions to resist closures and redundancy,
demanning and speed-up, when faced with the market
forces of the recession. As indicated above, some writers
have also illustrated how management are constrained by
what are seen as "market" decisions. However, it is possi-
ble that an organisation with widespread support is able to
maintain strong organisation, capable of taking advantage
when opportunities occur, even in these difficult cir-
cumstances, and of resisting management attacks on the
steward organisation[9].
Before considering the evidence to support these assertions,
it is perhaps worth noting one further point: even though
issues such as redundancy may dominate steward affairs,
they continue to fight on other issues. It may be that these
can be depicted as "non-control"[10] issues, low on the
"threats" scale, but, none the less, may be important for
the maintenance of site morale. Also, members may suc-
ceed in their own terms in defending their own work-station
*The
author would like to thank Mike Terry
(IRRU.
University of Warwick),
for his helpful comments on an earlier draft.
22 ER 7,5
■
1985
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