WHY BECOME A SHOP STEWARD? EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIAN UNIONS

Shop stewards are crucial to the vitality of unions, yet our understanding of why workers take on this important role is incomplete. This qualitative study seeks to contribute to addressing this gap by exploring the factors that influenced workers to become shop stewards in three dissimilar industri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Labour & industry (Brisbane, Qld.) Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 157 - 188
Main Author:	PEKAREK, ANDREAS
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Melbourne Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2009 Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:	Australia British & Irish literature Collective bargaining Influence Labor relations Labor unions Personal development Union membership Unions Women Workers
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Shop stewards are crucial to the vitality of unions, yet our understanding of why workers take on this important role is incomplete. This qualitative study seeks to contribute to addressing this gap by exploring the factors that influenced workers to become shop stewards in three dissimilar industries (construction, cleaning, and higher education). It draws on earlier research to investigate the explanatory potential of two sets of influences-personal factors and social processes-in interviews with 20 shop stewards and officials from three Australian unions. The study's findings support this conceptual approach, but suggest scope for its refinement. Finally, avenues for further research are identified, and policy implications for unions discussed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1030-1763 2325-5676
DOI:	10.1080/10301763.2009.10669388