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The Transition from Formal Nonunion Representation to Unionization: A Contemporary Case

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  • Daphne Gottlieb Taras
  • Jason Copping

Abstract

The authors examine three phases in the unionization process among Imperial Oil Limited employees in Canada who, in 1993, decided to withdraw from a long-standing nonunion employee representation plan: the conditions leading to the propensity to unionize; the transformation into a bargaining unit; and post-certification behaviors and practices. The unionization process in this case study differed from that suggested by literature based on unionization among workers without a previous history of collective representation. In the pre-campaign phase, workers experienced a significant loss of perceived power due to changes in company practices and managerial style. Elected worker delegates to the nonunion representation plan spearheaded the union campaign. The union organizing phase allowed the company multiple opportunities for redress without unionization. Subsequent union attachment was diminished by continuing loyalty to aspects of the old system.

Suggested Citation

  • Daphne Gottlieb Taras & Jason Copping, 1998. "The Transition from Formal Nonunion Representation to Unionization: A Contemporary Case," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(1), pages 22-44, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:52:y:1998:i:1:p:22-44
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399805200102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. B. Ruth Montgomery, 1989. "The Influence of Attitudes and Normative Pressures on Voting Decisions in a Union Certification Election," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 42(2), pages 262-279, January.
    2. Herbert G. Heneman III & Marcus H. Sandver, 1983. "Predicting the Outcome of Union Certification Elections: A Review of the Literature," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(4), pages 537-559, July.
    3. Daniel Nelson, 1989. "Managers and Nonunion Workers in the Rubber Industry: Union Avoidance Strategies in the 1930s," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 43(1), pages 41-52, October.
    4. Thomas A. Kochan & Robert B. McKersie & John Chalykoff, 1986. "The Effects of Corporate Strategy and Workplace Innovations on Union Representation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 39(4), pages 487-501, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. A. Tarik Timur & Daphne Taras & Allen Ponak, 2012. "‘Shopping for Voice’: Do Pre-Existing Non-Union Representation Plans Matter When Employees Unionize?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 214-238, June.
    2. John Godard, 2011. "Uncertainty and the Correlates of Union Voting Propensity: An Organizing Perspective," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 472-496, July.
    3. John Godard & Carola Frege, 2013. "Labor Unions, Alternative Forms of Representation, and the Exercise of Authority Relations in U.S. Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 142-168, January.
    4. Jimmy Donaghey & Niall Cullinane & Tony Dundon & Tony Dobbins & Eugene Hickland, 2022. "Employee choice of voice and non‐union worker representation," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 503-522, November.

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