History has proven that management will not be motivated to do the right thing just because it’s right. Unions aren’t all perfect, but they have done more to bring about equal opportunities and break down class barriers than any other institution. - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
From the Show
Dr. Ben Butina interviews Henry Mindidza, a third-year graduate student in I/O psychology at Portland State University. Henry discusses his experiences with mentoring undergraduate students and how he helps them navigate the challenges of graduate school. He shares some of the most common questions he receives from mentees, such as how to manage their time, how to approach class assignments, and how to deal with supervisor dynamics. Henry also talks about the importance of being a critical thinker and how he helps his mentees develop this skill. He concludes by saying that the most rewarding part of being a mentor is seeing someone come back and say that a conversation they had helped them figure out where they wanted to go in their career.
What I-O Folks Are Reading
Selections from published articles, articles in press, and other academic resources.
Online Labor Activism
An online petition, signed by more than six thousand Chinese tech workers in August 2021, is the latest example of an online labor movement in the authoritarian context of China. Combining interviews and publicly available information, this article provides a descriptive account of an activist movement, explains workers' demands, and discusses the characteristics of online labor activism.
“When Nobody Listens, Go Online”: The “807” Labor Movement Against Workplace Sexism in China's Tech Industry. Gender, Work & Organization.
Right-to-Work Laws & Unionization
The empirical analysis reveals an economically meaningful and statistically significant adverse effect from right-to-work adoption on union density that is distinct from other factors influencing unionization during that time period.
What Are the Consequences of Right-to-Work for Union Membership? ILR Review.
Digital Unionization
Through a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Facebook pages of six trade union confederations from Brazil, Canada, Portugal, and the UK, we find that despite the possibilities for horizontal dialogue enabled by the new digital communication and information technologies, trade union confederations maintain an outdated ‘one-way’ model of communication, hindering opportunities to reach and engage with both union and non-union actors.
Digital Unionism as a Renewal Strategy? Social Media Use by Trade Union Confederations. Journal of Industrial Relations.
What Everyone Else is Reading
Articles, books, and resources from the popular business press.
The Basics
A labor union is an organization of wage earners or salary workers established for the purpose of protecting their collective interests when dealing with employers. Although unions are prevalent in most industrialized countries, union representation of workers has generally declined in most countries over the past 30 to 40 years. In the United States, unions represented about one-third of all workers in the 1950s. In 2005 unions represented less than 12.5 percent of the labor force—7.8 percent of the labor force in the private sector; unions represented between 36.5 percent of public-sector workers.
Labor Unions. Inc.
Where Unions Are Growing Now
In total, the number of unionized workers in internet publishing has risen 20-fold since 2010. The unions representing media workers have achieved this through painstakingly old-fashioned union organizing: they have embraced the mantra of effective bargaining, though they have presented it in a new and technologically shiny package.
The Tactics Media Unions Are Using to Build Membership. Harvard Business Review.
And Where They’re Not
Unionization empowers individuals to collectively negotiate better working conditions, fair compensation and greater control over their professional lives. Unfortunately, the medical profession has seen limited progress in this regard. Driven by a deeply ingrained culture of autonomy and individualism, many doctors remain hesitant to join unions or professional organizations that advocate for their rights.
The Impact Of Doctors' Reluctance To Unionize On Private Practice. Forbes.
Bookscrolling’s Best Books About Organized Labor
Links lead to Amazon product pages.
There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America, Philip Dray
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, Katharine Weber
Work Song: A Novel, Ivan Doig
Why Unions Matter, Michael Yates
They’re Bankrupting Us!: And 20 Other Myths about Unions, Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Construct of the Week
A psychological construct relevant to work psychology.
Unionization: The act or process of organizing workers to become members of a labor union for collective bargaining and worker protection.
The Research Quiz
Test your intuition against this research finding.
Researchers explored the effects of public-sector unionization on the practice of contracting out public services. What do you think they found?