Theories of Trade Unionism

Theories of Trade Unionism

This comprehensive study traces the development of the trade union theory from its nineteenth century foundation to the more advanced conceptual models of today. Michael Poole surveys the main tributaries of modern approaches - the moral and ethical, the revolutionary, the defensive or conservative and the economic and political - and he analyses the work of contemporary industrial relations scholars. This includes the main types of varieties of system theory, the disparate pluralist approaches and the radical school, in which the concept of control has proved to be a principal concern. Such a review constitutes the prelude for the formulation of sophisticated theoretical and conceptual models grounded in the sociological analysis, in which notions of power and structure, the insights of institutional and organization scholars, and the assumptions of social action and culturalist perspectives are integrated into a consistent whole.

Michael Poole

Routledge & Kegan Paul

1981

PDF

English

Paper