Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Keywords

Unions, Labor, Nonmajority

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

This study explores the present-day practice of nonmajority unionism in the United States. Nonmajority labor unions seek to build a union among workers regardless of whether or not they have the 50-percent-plus-one majority necessary to file for a National Labor Relations Board election. This thesis adds to the existing historical and legal literature on nonmajority unions by providing a sociological examination of the nonmajority union approach. I conducted 4 group interviews and 11 individual interviews with workers and union staff from two different nonmajority unions in the manufacturing sector. From these interviews, it became clear that these unions share a number of common characteristics. Nonmajority unions use a similar range of tactics, such as petition campaigns, political action, leadership development and information sharing. More generally, they tend to run issue-based campaigns, reject a members-only approach, claim victories and act like a union. The fates of the two unions in this study demonstrate that context�in terms of local history, culture, and social organization�matters when applying a nonmajority union approach. With this understanding of nonmajority unions, labor leaders are better able to make informed decisions about appropriate strategies of action in union campaigns.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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