Twists and Turns of the High Road: Labor-Management Partnerships and Union Strategy in the United States and Europe Labor-Management Partnerships and Union Strategy in the United States and Europe

Abstract

This paper sketches a framework to analyze the link between labor-management partnership and union revitalization, with a special focus on how partnerships can foster or hinder other strategies. Partnerships are likely to be integrated with revitalized union strategies to the degree to which they: include groups of workers who are traditionally excluded from unionized jobs; protect participants and the process of participation through collective bargaining; and promote a set of policies that benefit society as a whole. Evidence from the United States and Europe suggests that this framework can explain a broader range of outcomes than can existing theories.