WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation

AnthonyThomson 1983

STRATIFICATIONANDINDUSTRIALRELATIONSPERSPECTIVES A.Introduction
Classdistinctions,itwasarguedabove,shouldbeseenashierarchised,withthe most fundamental difference being between those who own or control the productive apparatus(aswellasancillaryinstitutions)ontheonehand,andthosewhoareforcedby circumstances to sell their labour as a commodity. Just as there are, in addition, distinctionswithinthislattergroupingwhichreflecttheoreticallysecondarydifferencesin therelationsofproductionwhichareexpressed,throughthelabourmarket,asqualitative breadsintheoccupationalstructure,sotooaretheredifferencesinorientationtothelabour contract. In the first instance, all contracts are between a specific individual and an employeroremployinginstitution.Thissuggeststhepotentialofindividualstrategiesto improve both the terms and conditions of the sale of labour. But the existence of a hierarchyofparticularisms,inadditiontostructuredcleavagesinthehierarchy,createsan intricatepatternofimmediatesectionalinterestsaswellasrelativelymoregeneralones.It isonthiscomplexbasisthattradeunionismarisesasacollectiveresponsetothelabour movement. A consciousness of collectivity can develop among any group, the members of whichhavesalientinterestsincommon(Bliss,1974).Theorganisationalstructurewhich these individuals would adopt would vary according to the interests pursued. Trade unionismisthemostcommonformadoptedbyemployeesintheefforttoinfluencethe exchange value of labour power and exercise some control over the conditions of its appropriationbycapital.Thedivisionoflabourinindustrialcapitalismhaddevelopeda manualoccupationalstructurewithsignificantqualitativebreakswhichwereassociat4ed with distinct life chances, awareness and consciousness of collective interests. These cleavagesinturnwereassociatedwithdifferenttypesofcollectiveorganisation.Themost important historical division has been between the unskilled, the semiskilled and the skilled,thesedifferencesbeinginstitutionalisedinNorthAmericaintodifferentlabour movementswithdistinctprinciplesoforganisation. The other important breaks in the employed occupational structure were those withinthesphereofnonmanualwork.Capitalism,itwasstressedabove,isanespecially dynamic social system and these broad divisions are constantly modified by the dual tendenciesofdifferentiationandpolarisation.Theresulthasbeenthecreationofseveral semiproletarianstrataandadiversenewmiddleclasswhichexistsasanamorphous professionalmanagerialgrouping.Thequestionwhicharisesishowthesedifferentstrata, identifiedonthebasisofthedivisionoflabour,expresstheireconomicinterests.Tothe extenttheseinterestsareexpressedthroughcollectivity,itwouldbepostulatedthatthe

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation cleavagesinthenonmanualworkforcewouldberelatedtodifferentformsofcollective expression,fromprofessionalassociations,throughstaffassociationstotradeunions. Threedistinctapproachestothequestionoftherelationshipbetweenoccupational strataandthevarietiesofcollectivismcanbedistinguished.Astratificationperspectivehas beenproposedwhichbeganwiththeseminalworkofLockwoodandhasbeenextendedby Stewart,PrandyandBlackburn.Thisapproachclaimsthatdifferentsocialstrataarelinked systematicallywithdistinctversionsoftradeunionism.Analternative,industrialrelations perspectivebestrepresentedbyBain,isconcernedwiththegeneralsocialfactorswhich explainuniongrowthanddeniesanysystematicconnectionbetweenclasspositionand ideology. Finally two versions of a Marxist approach can be identified, the first exemplifiedby Allens neoMarxistindustrialrelationsperspective,andthe second by RosemaryCromptonsclass,asopposedtostratification,analysis. Theseapproacheswillbediscussedinthefirsthalfofthischapter,followingwhich several issues which emerge from the critiques of the stratification approach will be discussed. These include the extent to which trade unionism is a class activity, the distinction between class and status consciousness, and the issue of union leadership. Finally,onthebasisoftheimportanceoftheconceptunioncharacter,thestratification notionofunionatenesswillbediscussedinmoredetail.

B.AStratificationPerspective
InTheBlackcoatedWorker,Lockwoodwasconcernedtoreasserttheconnection between the economic position of non manual workers and their consciousness as indicatedbytheircommitmenttotradeunionism.Theintellectualcontextofhisthesiswas theargument,representedbyKlingender(1935)thattheclericalgrouphadundergonea processofproletarianisationwhichhadundermineditsintermediatestatusandrelative superiority,yet,theexpectationthattheresponseofclericalemployeeswouldbecome increasinglysimilartothatofmanualworkerswasunfoundedbythesubstantiallylower degreeofclericalunionisation.Thereappearedtobenonecessaryrelationshipbetweenthe economic situation and the actual behaviour or attitude of clerical workers. This discrepancywasattributedtotheinterventionofanideologywhichcontinuedtoinfluence subjectiveawarenessdespitetheerosionoftheoriginalconditionswhichhadengendered the ideology. The failure of most clerks to unionise and to recognise their common interests with manual workers was consequently attributed to false consciousness, an ideological aberration contradicting current economic position. It was against this interpretationthatLockwoodwasconcernedtoreassert. Lockwood shared with Klingender the proposition that the study of the class consciousnessofclericalworkerswasaquestionofthosefactorsaffecting[their]senseof identificationwith,oralienationfrom,theworkingclassofmanualemployees.Themost 2

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation importantexpressionofthisidentificationofalienationwastherelationshipoftheclerkto tradeunionism,themainvehicleofworkingclassconsciousness(Lockwood,1958:13). ForLockwood,thedifferenceintheunionresponseofclericalandmanualworkerswasnot attributabletoanideologicalconstructionindependentofaneconomicfoundation,but rather was associated directly with systematic differences in objective position. Sociologicallythewhitecollarworkerswerenotfalselyconsciousbecausethelowerlevels oftradeunionconsciousnessaccuratelyreflectedtheirclassplacement.Theoverallclass position of a group of employees, Lockwood argued, included several factors in their marketsituationsuchaswages,hoursofwork,benefitsandholidays.Italsoincluded factorsintheemployeesworksituations,suchastheirplaceintheauthoritystructure, bureaucratisation,andthedivisionoflabour.Klingenderhadconcentratedhisanalysis onlyoncertainfactorsinthemarketsituationofclericalworkersandhadnottakeninto considerationtheseotherissueswhichwererelatedtotheirunionresponse.Although Lockwoodrecognised,inprinciple,theindependenceofsocialstatusasathirddimension, thiswasnotdevelopedandstatusdifferenceswereimplicitlyseenassocialexpressionsof complicatedeconomicprocesses.Bytakingbothmarketandworksituationsintoaccount, Lockwoodclaimed,itwaspossibletoaccountforvariationsinclericalunionismwithout resortingprimarilytotheindependentaffectivityofthestatusfactor. The question Lockwood set was the extent to which the trade union activity of clerical workers reflected class consciousness. He distinguished between action in concertamongindividualswhosharedaspecificoccupation,derivingfromrecognitionof certaincommoninterests,andactionswhichexpressclassconsciousness.ForLockwood, concertedactionconfinedtotheorganisationofasingleoccupationalgroupmayamount only to a pretrade union consciousness of collectivity. Such action, expressed in the formationof employeeassociations,isdistinctfromtradeunionismwhichentailsthe further realisation that certain of these interests are also shared by other groups of employees.Tradeunionismexpressestheclassconsciousnesswhichemergeswhenthe membersofaclericalassociationrealise,first,thattheircommoninterestsareengendered bytheconflictofinterestsbetweenemployerandemployeeandsecondwhentheyrealise thattheirinterestsarenotfundamentallydissimilartothoseofmanualworkers.Since the trade union movement was overwhelmingly working class, the unionised clerical workers would have to come to terms with its wider class character (Lockwood, 1958:137). Lockwoods empirical study traced the development and growth of clerical unionisation in Britain. He recognised that there was little connection between unionisationmeaningthetradeunionorganisationofclerksandeconomicposition,if the latter was restricted to income and job security. In fact, the relationship was the 3

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation opposite:wellpaidsecureclerkswithhighstatustendedtohavegreaterdegreesoftrade union membership (1958:150). He also accepted the point that each union arose in particularcircumstancesandtheirunionisationwouldvaryamonggroupsofclerksforany numberofpeculiarreasonseachunionwassuigeneris.Hisconcern,however,wasto establishthegeneralconditionswhichlinkedclasspositionwithvariationsinthedegree ofclericalunionism(:140). Herejectedthestereotypethatclerkswouldnotorganisebypointingtothehigh degreeofmembershipinsomeindustries.TheRailwayClerksAssociation,forexample, containedamajorityofeligibleworkersanddemonstratedaclassconsciousnesswhich surpassedmanymanualunions(1958:15556).Inindustry,bycontrast,barelyfivepercent ofeligibleemployeeswereunionised,whilebankingrepresentedanintermediatesituation (:145).Thesevariationswerenotrandom;neitherweretheytheresultofanideological snobbishness.Rather,asLockwoodexplainedthemaintenantofwhitecollarunionism, variationsinunionisationandattitudesingeneralcanbeunderstoodbysystematic variations in the class position of the employees concerned (:198; see Blackburn and Prandy,1965:116). Lockwood made an important analytical distinction between the degree of unionisation (the percent of the total number of clerks who were organised in trade unions)(1958:138139)andtheclassconsciousnessofclericalunionism.Thelattercould only be determined indirectly with reference to such factors as the use of the strike, affiliation to the Trade Union Congress, and so on. These gave an indication of the character of blackcoated unionism (:138). This distinction formed the core of the subsequentdevelopmentofthestratificationperspectivebyBlackburnandPrandy. Lockwoodhaddemonstratedthevariationsinclericalunionismastheyrelatedto themarketsituationofemployees.Hiscasestudies,however,alltendedtobesimilaron theindicatorsofclassconsciousnessspecified(withtheexceptionoftheNationaland LocalGovernmentOfficersAssociationwhichhadnotatthattimeaffiliated).Theydidnot exhibit the same variations in character as they did in degree, although Lockwood attributedthesetodifferencesinworkratherthanmarketsituations(1958:195).Blackburn argued that this was unsatisfactory. The situation was particularly complex in those industriesthathadmorethanoneorganisation,withdifferingcharacters,attemptingto recruitmembersfromthesameclassposition.AsBlackburndeclared,ifworkershavethe sameclassposition,accordingtoLockwoodtheycannotberepresentedbyorganisations withdifferentcharacters(Blackburn,1967:13). Partoftheclarificationofthisconfusioninvolvedthefurtherelaborationofthe definitionofatradeunion.BlackburnexpandedLockwoodsnarrowdefinitiontoinclude thoseorganisationswhosepredominantactivitiesareprotectiveofemployeeinterests(:14), 4

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation whichwouldincludestaffassociationswhichrepresentemployeesinwhateverforumis availabletothem(:28).Onlycompanyunions,whichcannotrepresenttheirmembers independently,andprofessionalbodiesforwhichunioncharacteristicsformasmall proportionoftotalactivities,areexcluded(BlackburnandPrandy,1965:114).Therewere, then,degreesofcharacterdifferencesbetweentypesofunions,fromprestigetoprotective occupationalassociations(Blackburn,1967:2129). Blackburn argued that the significance of unionism could not be understood independently of union character (:10) and that differences in size relative to the total numberofemployeesweremostmeaningfulwhencharacterwasheldconstant.Tomake thismoreprecise,hespecifiedthatunionateness,ameasureofthecommitmentofa bodytothegeneralprinciplesandideologyoftradeunionismreflectsanorganisations character (Blackburn and Prandy, 1965:112). This measure is different from completeness,theproportionofpotentialmembersactuallyorganised.Unionisation, then, is not a simple measurable quantity but a compound of completeness and unionateness,thetwobeinginverselyrelated(:118). Afurtherclarificationofconceptswasintroducedon1974,althoughforeshadowed earlier.Lockwoodhaddrawnadistinctionbetweenalowerlevelofunionismandawider identification with the trade union movement based, as a minimum, on the common interestsofunionsasdefensiveorganisations(Lockwood,1958;seeBlackburn,1967:20). Prandy, et al. subsequently divided the measurement of unionateness into two components:enterpriseunionatenessreferredtoaspecificemploymentsituationandthe conflictwithinitoverthetermsofthelabourcontract;societyunionateness,concernedthe relationshipbetweentheemployeeandissuesreflectingthesocietywidedistributionof rewards(Prandy,etal.,1974:430).Theydemonstratedthattheseconceptscanbeusedto measurethecharacteroforganisationsaswellastheattitudesofindividuals(:432). Therearenoabsolutedistinctionstobedrawnbetweenprotectiveorganisationsof manual and nonmanual workers, and the similarities are greater than the differences (Prandy,1965:145:BlackburnandPrandy,1965:120).Amongmanualunionsthereare equally significant differences. However, for any employment situation the degree of unionisation is determined by the factors which tend to be common for manual and nonmanual workers alike, although whitecollar workers, in general, have not been affectedtothesamedegreeasmanualworkers.Employeeattitudesarerelatedto... objectivefactorsoftheworksituation.Ofthese,oneofthemostimportantistheattitude ofthe employer(Blackburn andPrandy, 1965:116). Morebasicfactorsincludedthe growthofbureaucracy(:117),size,complexityoforganisationandreductioninpromotion prospects,alackofautonomyatwork(:118)aswellasthestructureoftheindustryin question, the status of the employees, and historical developments (Blackburn, 1967: 5

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation 26869).Thelevelofunionisationisdeterminedbythesocialsituation,butifthislevelis heldconstantthecompletenessandunionatenesswouldvaryinversely(:267)andprestige associationswouldpredictablybelowinunionateness,theunionisationofclericalworkers wouldtendtobeintermediate:organisationswhichscoredhighinunioncharacterwould tendtobelowincompleteness,andviceversa.Whiteandbluecollarunionsdiffer,then, becausetheyfallatdifferentpointsalongtheunionatenesscontinuum.Thecharacterof unionisation inaparticular fieldwould be afunctionof thecharactersofthevarious unionsinthatfield(Blackburn,1967:18). In short, the stratification perspective held that white collar unionisation is systematicallyassociatedwithclassposition.Initssimplestformulation,thehypothesis assertsthatdifferentemploymentsituationsgenerateclassorstatusideologieswhichare reflectedincollectiveorganisationbytradeunionsorprofessionalassociations(Prandy, 1965:427).Withinthetermsofcompletenessandunionateness,widevariationscouldbe expectedbetweendifferentwhitecollarunions.Intheaggregate,however,significant differenceswouldbeexpectedbetweentheunionresponsesofmanualandnonmanual employees.Althoughfactorssuchastheconcentrationofemploymentandtheattitudeof employerswereimportantlyrelatedtounionism,overallmanualandnonmanualunions would tend to differ in character as measured by a unionateness scale, a scale which, moreover,couldbeunderstoodasameasureoftheclassconsciousnessoftheemployees organised.

C.TheIndustrialRelationsCritique
The principal issues in the stratification approach, then, are the importance of understandingthecharacterofaunionasanelementofunionisation,andtheexistenceof systematicdifferencesbetweengroupsofworkersatdifferentlevelsoftheemployment structure.Theimportanceofcharacterhasnotmetwithunreservedacceptance.Lumley (1973) accepted that a measure of the character or nature of unionism is theoretically desirable(:24)andaspecificresearchneed(:122),butarguedfurtherthataimswere difficult to measure and there was no acceptable method to weight the factors in Blackburns unionateness scale. Although in the end he abandons the idea and concentrates on completeness (or density), concluding that any attempt to find a quantifiable relationship between nature and membership is an unwarranted sophistication,hedoesutilisetheadhocdivisionbetweenunions,staffassociationsand professionalorganisations,andhedoesrecognisethatthedifferencesintheirrespective naturescorrelatewiththesocialstatusoftheoccupationsorganised(Lumley,1973:2324). Generallyintheindustrialrelationsapproach,however,thedesirabilityofindicatingthe characterofaunionisnotacknowledged(Bain,CoatesandEllis,1973:6870).Unionisation isunderstoodasaunitaryphenomenonandmembershipstatisticsaresufficientprimary 6

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation datafortheanalysisofunionism. Initsanalysistheindustrialrelationsapproachconcentratesontheenvironmental factorswhichareassociatedwiththeoccupationalandindustrialvariationsinwhitecollar unionism.Certaindifferencesarefoundtobeinsignificant;forexample,comingfroma manualornonmanualbackground(Bain,1970:4346);orhavingaloworhighsocialstatus (:4950;seeLockwood,1958:15051).Inothercasestherelationshipisfoundtobethe reverseofthatpredictedbythestratificationmodel(initsunsophisticatedform):some groups,suchasmalelaboratorytechnicians,havesufferedadeclineinearningsbutare poorly organised while bank clerks have had very little reduction in income but are highly organised (Bain, 1970:54);civilservants andbank employeesare not in close proximitytomanualworkersbuthaveahighdegreeofcompleteness,whilewhitecollar workersinmanufacturingindustry,incloseproximitytomanualworkers,havealow completenesslevel(:86). Positively, other factors are significantly related to union completeness. The strongestlinksarebetweenunionisationandemploymentconcentration(Bain,1970:723; Sturmthal,1966:336;May1979:105),theattitudeoftheemployer(Lumley,1973:5665; Bain,1970:12226),andtheindustrialrelationsclimatepromotedbythegovernment(: 12425;May,1979:107;Blum,1971:15).Tothesemaybeaddedeconomictrends,theeffect ofthebusinesscycle(PriceandBain,1976),andespeciallytheeffectsofinflation(Allen, 1971: 95). In Canada, Bain argued, government policy had failed to undermine managementsoppositiontounionismand,withthiscrucialpredeterminingfactorabsent, whitecollarunionswereweakandcouldnotgroweasilyintheprivatesector(Bain,1969). Havingenumeratedtheassociatedfactors,theindustrialrelationsapproachiscompleted withoutattemptingtointegratethemintoanygeneraltheory.Manyofthesefactorswere discussed by Blackburn(1967),buthisintentionwastolocateasystematicconnection betweenunionisationandclassposition.Thistheoryisstillbeingelaborated. Thecritiquewhichattemptstounderminethestratificationapproachdirectlyis associatedwithBainandhiscowriters(Bain,CoatesandEllis,1973).Althoughtheyraise many fundamental questions about the connection between class position and class consciousness,theauthorstreatmentofthemisnotsatisfactory.Bainetal.arguethat thereisnosimplerelationshipbetweenaunionscharacterandthesocialpositionofthe membership(1973:70;seeAllen,1971:56).Furthermoretheyassertthatthesedifferent positionsdonotsustainseparatetypesoforganisations.Distinguishingbetweentrade unions,whitecollarstaffassociationsandprofessionalassociations,theymaintainthatthe differencesbetweenseparateorganisationswithineachtypeareatleastasgreatasthe differencebetweentypes.Characterwasnotasimportantaseffectiveness(Lumley,1973: 23).Intheinsuranceindustry,forexample,theunrecognisedtradeunionwasseenas 7

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation ineffectualcomparedwiththestaffassociationwhichwassuccessfulinnegotiatingsuch provisionsasearlyretirement,leadingtothegrowthoftheselessunionatebodiesdespite somerelativeproletarianisation(Heritage,1980:289). Bain et al. claim that, since unions are recruited from a wide range of social positions,thecharacterofaunionconceptualisedasaunidimensionalcontinuumcannot reflectthesocialpositionofitsmembership(1973).Todemonstratethistheyask:if union characters are determined by their members social positions, then how can the formerchangewhilethelatterremainsthesame?Unionschoosetoaffiliatewithcentral labour bodies, for example, at specific times with no significant changes in the social positionofthemembers(:70).Heritage(1980:288)wasmoreopentothepossibilitythat thecreationofawhitecollarproletariatwasanecessaryconditionforunionisation,but addedthattheotherfactorsadducedbytheindustrialrelationsschoolmustbepresentfor sufficientconditionstoexist.Allenarguedindifferentterms.Therangeoffactorswere deemednecessaryconditionsinadditiontowhichareanumberofunspecifiedsufficient conditions which are particular to the environment and determine the timing of the emergenceoftradeunionism,theformsittakesandtherateatwhichitdevelops(1971: 43).Thesedidnotincludethemanualornonmanualnatureofwork,giventhecomplex division of labour, since the economic differences between these groupings had been erased.Thequestionbecamewhyworkersinsomeoccupationswerelessorganisedthan thoseinothers(:440.Manynonmanuals,asMaypointedout,donotseethemselvesas middleclassandthereforeunionismismorenormalandaccepted(1979:105). Blackburnhademphasisedtheimportanceofanorganisationsindependencefrom theemployerinhisdefinitionofatradeunion.Inreply,Bainetal.arguethatcollective bargainingisarelationshipofrecogniseddependencyandthatonlyunilateraldemandson thepartoftheemployeesexpressindependence(1973:8688).Norcanthecharacterofa unionbetakenasanindicationofclassconsciousness.Sincewhitecollarunionismoften followsachangeintheattitudeoftheemployer,itneednotimplyachangeintheattitude oftheemployeeinthefundamentalsensethatitexpressesanewconflictwithmanagement (May,1979:108).Bainetal.movefromthepointthat,forLockwood,tradeunionismis necessarilyaclassactivitytotheassertionthatthecharacteroftheunionmaythusbe takenasanindexoftheclassconsciousnessofitsmembership(1973:59).Theyregard class consciousness to be a form of behaviour which is solely, or at least primarily, motivatedbyaconsciousnessofclassties,fromwhichitfollowsthatontheseparate aspectsofunionatenesslisted,classconsciousnesswasasignificantfactoronlytotheextent to which individuals were motivated in their unionism by solidarity with the manual working class rather than by narrow sectional ends (: 7982). The authors have little difficultyindisposingofthisargument.Asafinaldisagreementwiththestratification 8

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation school,theydisputetheexistenceofarelationshipbetweencoherentclassandstatusworld viewsandtypesofunionisation.Thislastpointwillbediscussedinmoredetailbelow. Inshort,theindustrialrelationscritiqueholdsthatwhitecollarworkersdonot possessanyintrinsicqualitieswhichmakethemless receptive to tradeunionismthan manualworkers(1973:50).Theymaythinkofthemselvesassociallysuperiorbutthis doesnotpreventtheirunionisationanymorethanafallingstatusencouragesit(:49).Any aggregate differences can be accounted for by the variables of employer attitude and concentrationofwork.AsMayargues,thestrongversionofthestratificationthesis,that whitecollarworkersrestricttheaimsoftheirorganisationsandeschewtheuseofthestrike andindustrialmilitancy,mustberejected.Eveninitsweakversiontheevidencerefutes anydifference.Most middleclass unionshaveresortedtothefullrangeofsanctions, includingnationalstrikes,whichareusedbymanyworkingclassunions;andthereare examplesofthelatterwhichhavehardly,ifever,resortedtotheuseofstrikeaction.This obviouslyunderminesanybroadcharacterisationofnonmanualandmanualunionsin termsofdifferentstrategiesandtactics(May,1979:110). Part of the discussion of this critique must question whether examples are sufficienttodemonstratetheexistenceorotherwiseofbroadtrends.Bainetal.restmuch oftheircaseonthedemonstrationthatnosimplerelationshipexistsbetweenmembers socialpositionsandunioncharacter.Theirevidence,whichamountstothemarshallingof deviantcases,mayindicatethatthesimplerangeofunionresponsesvariesconsiderably within each category of organisational type. This formulation, however, fails to deal directly with the level of sophistication of the argument which acknowledges wide variationsbutassociatesthemwithdifferingcombinationsofcharacterandcompleteness. ThecritiqueaddressesneitherBlackburnshypothesisnotthequestionatanaggregate level.Oneessentialpointofthethesisdifferentfromboththeweakandstrongversions specified was that membership was insufficiently meaningful in the absence of a discussion of character. Bank workers and railway workers may be both highly organised, but this obscures the nature of the union they prefer, and both give some indication of the consciousness of the members. No relationship would be predicted betweenclasspositionandeithercompletenessorunionatenessiftheseareconsidered separately,themainpointthatBlackburnmadein1967.Insofarasthepredictionremains that there will be different levels of unionisation between the three types of collective organisations,itremainspossiblethat,despiteequallygreatranges,thedistributionof responsescouldbeskewedinsignificantlydifferentwaysamongthem.Toconcludethat, in the aggregate, the relationship did not hold, it would be necessary to carry out an analysisatthatlevelofmeasurement.Thediscoveryofmilitantwhitecollarunions,then, doesnotrefutethestratificationhypothesis.Troublesomedeviantcaseswouldconsistof 9

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation two bodies of workers in the same class position with significantly different levels of unionisation as defined by character times completeness, or workers in very different economic positions with identical degrees of unionisation. Such deviant cases occur theoreticallyandmayoccurempirically,especiallyiftheanalysisismadebetweenregions or nations. Assuming an aggregate relationship, as the level of analysis becomes less abstractthedegreeofunionisationofconcretegroupingswillbeaffectedbytheparticular conditionsAllenmentionedaswellasbytheobjectivefactorsacknowledgedbyboththe industrialrelationsandthestratificationschools. The question of whether character is less important then effectiveness is more complex.Itispossibletoenvisionasituationinwhichachangeinthemarketandwork conditionselicitsanewsetofdemandsfromemployees.Thecontentoftheirbargainingor consultationwithmanagementmanychange,butshouldtheirassociationbeeffectivein achieving its goals (or convince the membership that they are unachievable), then the meansusedtoobtainthemandhencetheaimsoftheorganisationanditscharacter willnotchange.Atbest,unionisationmayincreaseinitscompletenesscomponentsince, as it achieves the new goals, more employees will be convinced that membership is desirable.Itiswhenthenewgoalscannotbeachievedwithintheoldframeworkthatnew aimsemergewhichinducememberstojoinmoremilitantbodiesoralterthecharacterof the existing associations. The limiting point remains valid, however. No motive to increaseunionatenesswillfollowwheneffectivenessisnotdiminished;anditispossible foremployees toadjust to the newcircumstances andnotrespondbyincreasingtheir unionisation. The third argument was that since unions recruit from a wide range of social positions, their characters cannot reflect the position of the membership. Just as unionisation in a given field is seen as a function of the union characters of the organisations comprising the field, so too an industrialtype union may be seen as expressingtheaveragecharacterofitsmembershipgroupings.Itwillbearguedbelow, however,thatthispluralismmaynotexistandthedefinitionofthecharacteroftheunion may be disproportionately influenced by superordinate subsets within it. A similar responsecanbemadtothequestionofindividualdualmembershipinorganisationswith differentcharacters,althoughinthisinstanceitmaybemoreappropriatetoseek,inclass terms,amoreambiguoussituationofinterestsratherthansomesenseofameaninterest locatedbetweenthedualorganisations. Fourthitisarguedthatunioncharactersmaychangewhilethememberssocial positionsremainconstant.Ifweusethemajoritydecisiontoaffiliateastheindicationofa changeofcharactermeasuredbyadichotomousvariable,thereisnoreasontoassumethat thesocialconditionshadsuddenlymaterialisedandlessthattherewouldbeanimmediate 10

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation transformationincognition.Thisisadefiniteprobleminthemeasurementoftheconcept ratherthanaquestionofthegeneraltheoryitself.Ifcharacterisregardedasavariable whichcanexistindegrees,thenthepointatwhichthequestionofaffiliationarises,aswell astheamountandsourceoffluctuationsinsupportmayberelatedtochangesineconomic position,employerresponse,andsoon(seeThomson,1977b).Theotherrelevantpointis that other factors operate, as both the stratification and industrial relations school recognise,sothatcharactermaychangeandthenhaveaneffectoncompleteness,orvice versa(Blackburn,1967). Onasecondissueoftheconsciousnessquestion,Bainetal.makethepointthata highlevelofclassconsciousnessmightleadtoanideologicalrejectionofunionsasnot revolutionary.Thisdoesnotnecessarilyfollowhowever.InFrance,forexample,thereare revolutionaryunionswhichdisputethelegitimacyofmanagementauthorityandeducate theirmemberstotheexploitativenatureofcapitalism(Gallie,19xx).TheInternational WorkersoftheWorldinNorthAmericaadoptedasimilarsyndicalistposition.Inthe presenttheempiricalexistenceofsuchahighlevelofclassconsciousnessisextremelyrare in Canada, though the theoretical point remains valid. Syndicalism may represent, furthermore,ahigherdegreeofindependencewhencontrastedwithcollectivebargaining whichoccursinasituationofmutuallyaccepteddependencyconfinedtotheinstanceof sellinglabourpower.Thisdependencyisaproductofthemarketforlabourandexpresses anarrowlydefinedmutualityofinterests.Theseinterests,whicharespecifictoagiven enterprise,mayformthefoundationforanideologyoflabourmanagementcooperation,a commonfeatureofmanyemploymentsituations.Theadventofcollectivebargaining, however,whileusuallyoccurringwithinthisframeworkofmutuallyrecognisedpragmatic interests,expressestheclassdistinction,atamicrolevel,betweenemployerandemployee; itisarecognitionthattheinterestsofthebuyerandtheselleroflabourarenotidentical andpresupposestheformationofaconceptionofseparateinterestswithinamoregeneral commonalitywhichassumesthattheycanbereconciledtotherelativesatisfactionofboth parties. The further argument that collective bargaining was granted to workers by employers who were conscious of its capacity for enhancing social control of workers expresses,inpart,confusionbetweenthetypesofinterestswithinanenterpriseandisin partamisinterpretationofhistory.Theadoptionofafavourableattitudetowardstrade unionismonthepartofemployersmayexpressarecognitionthattheirinterestsareserved inrationalisingthelabourmarket,especiallyinlargeemploymentsituations.Butitisnot entirelylegitimatetoargue,fromthisfactthatsinceemployershaveadoptedtradeunion methodsfortheiremployeesintheirownintereststhattheymustrepresenttheinterestsof thedominantclassratherthanbeanexpressionofworkingclassconsciousness. Unionsaremoreoftenwonthangrantedgratis,andwheretheyaregranted,itis 11

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation oftentoforestalladrivebyamoremilitantunion.Sincetheyareinstitutionstobargain overthesaleoflabourpowertheyexpressthemutualinterestsexpressedinthiscontract andsimultaneouslyrepresenttheconflictofinterestinherentinthesellingoflabourpower fromthepointofviewoftheworkers.Ifclassinterestsarerestrictedtothemarketrelation then trade unionism is a full expression of working class consciousness visvis an employer. To the extent that the exercise of unionism confines workers to immediate intereststhentheymaysimultaneouslyexpressthelongerrangeinterestsoftheemployers whowantanorderlyprocesstonegotiatethetermsofthelabourcontract,andtheshorter rangeinterestsoftheworkersconfinedtotheseterms.Fromthewiderperspectivethatthe interestsofworkersgobeyondthespecifictermsofexchangeforlabourpower,thentrade unionismisnotafullexpressionofclassconsciousness.However,itisatleastimplicitlya classactivitybecauseitisconcernednotonlywiththetermsofsaleofthecommodity,but moreimportantlyoftheconditionsofitsappropriationinthecontextofthesubordination oflabourtocapital. Bain,CoatesandEllismovefromthepointthat,forLockwood,tradeunionismis necessarilyaclassactivitytotheassertionthatthecharacteroftheunionmaythusbe takenasanindexoftheclassconsciousnessofitsmembership(1973:59).Theyregard class consciousness to be a form of behaviour which is solely, or at least primarily, motivatedbyaconsciousnessofclassties,fromwhichitfollowedthat,ontheseparate aspectsofunionatenesslisted,classconsciousnesswasasignificantfactoronlytotheextent towhichindividualsweremotivatedintheirunionactivitybysolidaritywiththemanual workingclassratherthannarrowsectionalends(:7982). Two conceptually separate questions are raised here. The first concerns the connectionbetweenclassconsciousnessandtradeunionresponse,notonlyasaconceptual questionbutasacognitiveprocessamongemployees.Thesecondquestionistheextentto whichthecharacterofanorganizationcanbeconsideredtobethecreationoftheconscious expressionoftheinterestsofitsmembership. ClarkeandClementsdistinguishbetweenunionswhichactmerelytorepresentthe sectionaleconomicinterestsofparticularoccupationalgroupsandthosewhichactto advancethegeneralinterestsoftheworkingclassincombatingcapitalism(1977:1011). Theformeristoonarrowtoexpresstheconsciousnessassociatedwithtradeunionism whichalsoincludesthoseinterestscommontoallemployees,assuch,inthelabourmarket. The latter may be too wide to express a consciousness associated directly with trade unionsandassimilatesarevolutionaryperspectiveinwhichthegeneralinterestsentailthe overthrow of the commodity status of labour. While leaving aside the issue of the development of a revolutionary perspective, Lockwood had drawn a more useful distinction between a lower level of unionism, concerned with a specific employment 12

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation situation, and the conflict within it over the terms of the labour contract, and a wider identificationoralliancewiththetradeunionmovementbased,asaminimum,onthe commoninterestsofunionsasdefensiveorganizations. Theessentialpointaboutthenatureoftradeunionsisthattheyreflectabasically defensivereactiondesignedtosecurethebenefitsofitsmembers,inagivensituation,as employees. They are devices for sectional ends. Employees in certain positions, particularlythoseinwhichindividualmeansofadvancearelimited,cometoperceivethat theycanbestpursuetheirinterestscollectively.Thisconceptionofinterestsneednotonly involvecollectiveoppositiontoanemployer,butunionismcanbecome,forexamplein some craft situations, a strategy of closure aimed to reduce competition in the labour market (Perlman, 1928). Furthermore, consciousness of collectivity is not confined to employeesbutcanbegeneralizedtothewholerealmofsocialmovements.Ithasbeen argued above, however, that these sectional ends, while forming the basis of trade unionism,containanintrinsicclasselement.Thisclasselementisnotnecessarilyperceived inclasstermsandthereexistsanimportantdisjunctionbetweentradeunionismasaclass activityandasanexpressionofclassconsciousness.Onthecontrary,theconditionsofthe labourmarketstructurebothinterestsandconsciousnesstoexpressparticularisms. Theoretical approaches to the study of class consciousness have specified a progressionofincreasinglyexplicitstagesofclassconsciousness,fromlowertohigher degrees(Hobsbawm,1971;Ollman,1972;Wolpe,1969).InMichaelMannsclassification, class consciousness among employees involves a series of steps with regard to their employmentwhichrecognizeacommonidentity,acommonopposition,aclassdefinition ofthesituationfullyarticulatedratherthanbeingmerelyimplicit,andaconceptionofan alternativesociety(1973:69).Thereisamoreorlessspontaneoustendencywhichdrives employeestowardssomeformofprotectiveorganization,assumingasufficientscale,but thereisbothalogicalandempiricalgulfbetweenthislevelofarticulationofconsciousness and the movement to embrace the higher levels which involve an explicit rather than implicitconceptualisationofclass(7172).Thesecond,higherlevel,theclassdefinitionand alternativesociety,isnotsimplyaquantitativeincreaseabovetherecognitionofcommon interestsandantagonists,butratherisaqualitativebreak.Thetwolevelsareconceptually distinctandindependentofeachother(Meszaros,1971). Oneofthecentralambiguitiesintheuseofthetermclassconsciousnessisthat socialactorsgenerallydohaveavisionofthesocialstructurewhichtakestwoforms.One isamicroperspectiveofgradationsinprestigestatusorskillrankings.Inadditionto thesegenerallyrecognizeddifferencesinoccupationalstatus,termssuchasmiddleclass, upper middle class, or working class, for example, are part of their conceptual apparatus.Inthissenseactorsareawareofgeneraldistinctionslabelledclassesandwill 13

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation oftenplacethemselvesinspecificcategories.Thequestionofclassconsciousnessismore thanthepredictedselfplacementofindividualswithinaperceivedhierarchybutrather entails the recognition of the conflict of interests inherent in the relationship between asymmetricclasscategories.Bothconceptionsaretheoryimpregnated,thelatterina morevisiblewaysinceitrelatestostructuralprocesseswhichunderlietheoccupational divisionofthecommoditylabourpower. Giddens specified two levels of class consciousness prior to the adoption of a revolutionaryperspective.Thefirstisaconceptionofclassidentityandthereforeofclass differentiation,whichisclassawareness.InGiddensapproach,classesexistonlyinsofar astheybecomesocialrealitiesmanifestintheformationofcommonpatternsofbehaviour andattitude(1973:111)andacommonawarenessofthesewhichislinkedtoagiven lifestyle.Classawarenessisoftenonlyimplicitandisnotnecessarilyperceivedinclass terms(:115).Itisanalogoustootherformsofgroupawareness,suchasnational,racialor ethnicconsciousness. Thesecondlevelisapparentwhenperceptionofclassunityislinkedtorecognition ofoppositionofinterestwithanotherclassorclasses(:112).Thisawarenessofconflicting groupinterestsgivesrisetoaconflictconsciousness.Again,aconflictperspectivecould emergeonthebasisofanysalientgroupdifferenceofinterest,whetherracial,ethnic,and soon.Conflictconsciousnessisnotnecessarilyalowerformofclassconsciousness,but conflictconsciousnessorientedtoantagonismsfoundedinclassdifferenceissuchaform. Thereis,then,animplicitclassawarenessandanexplicitclassconflictconsciousness,both ofwhichareindependentofandconceptuallypriortoarevolutionaryconsciousness.The newmiddleclass,Giddensargues,isclassawareratherthanbeingclassconscious.They areconsciousofhavingadistinctlifestyle,attitudesandbeliefsbutdonotperceivetheir situationasinvolvingaconflictofinterestswithanothergroupinclassterms.Onthe contrary,oneelementoftheircommonideologyorclassawarenesstendstotaketheform ofadenialoftheexistenceortherealityofclasses(:115,emphasizedinoriginal).The conditionsofexistenceofthenewmiddleclassmakethecoalescenceofaspecificmiddle classconsciousnessproblematic. Fromthisperspective,tradeunionsareaninstitutionalizedformofclassorientated conflictconsciousness,whilepreunionassociations,atbest,expressgroupawareness. Evenamongtradeunion,members,asindividuals,neednothaveaconflictconsciousness. Those who do have such a consciousness may tend to confine its applicability to the immediateemploymentsituationandnotseethisconflictinitsbroader,classperspective. Itwasarguedabovethatunionismwasimplicitlyaclassactivity.Anotionofanimplicit classconsciousness,however,isacontradictioninterms.Itisbetter,therefore,tospeakof thedevelopmentoftradeunionconsciousness,recognizingitsimplicitclassmeaning, 14

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation while leaving as a conceptually distinct question the extent to which trade union consciousnessentailsanexplicitlyclassframeofreference. The concept of union character, then, measures different levels of trade union consciousness among those who are instrumental in shaping this character, while bracketingthequestionoftheextenttowhichthosewhoembracegivenlevelsoftrade unionideologyseethisactivityinclassterms.Tradeunionideologymaybesignificantly related to class consciousness, but it is not necessarily a lower degree of such consciousness. D.ClassandStatusIdeologies Havingdistinguishedbetweenclassandunionconsciousness,thequestionofthe linkbetweentradeunionismandclasspositionremains.Sincetradeunionsareorganized expressionsoftheinterestsofgroupsinthesellingoflabourpower,systematicdifferences wouldbeexpectedbetweenoccupationalcategories.Ifitisassertedthatthereisanew middleclass,orthatthereareoneormoresignificantfracturesalongthemultidimensional gradation of class positions, then the content of trade union consciousness would predictablyvaryoneithersideofthetheorizedcleavages.Iftherearetwomajorgroupings and two types of consciousness, then there would also be two types of employee organizations.Thecollectiveorientationsmorecommonamongnonmanualworkers(the formationofassociations,preferenceforarbitration,reiterationofdistinctcharactervis vismanualunions)becomenotmerelylessclassconscious,inLockwoodsterms,but mayexpresstheclassawarenessofaseparateclass. Nonmanualworkers,accordingtoAllen,havealwaysbeendistinguishedbytheir strivingforprestige,Lackingthesocialbasesofprestige,suchasbirthright,poweror authority, the nonmanual workers sought prestige by a policy of segregating the less worthy manual workers who bore the stigma attached to dirty work. This social insularitywasbasedonprivilegedtreatmentfromemployersandacastelikesegregation ofmanualfromnonmanualemployees(1971:9394).Thisrealdifferencewasexaggerated into a great social pretence as nonmanual workers saw themselves as individuals, superiortomanualworkersandabletoprogressthroughsocietyunaided(:94).They were isolated from trade unionism because of this special treatment and their social imagerywhichemphasizedmiddleclassvalues(Allen,1971:43;CromptonandGubbay, 1977:195).Whitecollarworkersresistunionsbecausetheyconsiderthemorganizations appropriateforlowerstatus,bluecollarworkersandbeneaththedignityofthewhite collaremployee,asituationwhichreflectstraditionandtheworkenvironmentmorethan theirincomeorskill(Kruger,1971:106107).Managementhasplayedapartinfostering thisviewoftheantithesisofunionismandhigherstatusemployment(Strauss,1954:74). InheranalysisofclassdiscussedinSectionI,RosemaryCromptonhadarguedthat 15

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation mostwhitecollaremployeeswereinadifferentclassrelationshipcomparedwithmanual workers.Consequently,ratherthanseeingdifferencesinunionideologyasaquantitative question,moreorlessunionate,inBlackburnsterms,itshouldberecognizedthatthese alternative strategies express class differences. The approaches to industrial relations commontostaffassociations,whicharebasedonaconceptionoftheharmoniousnatureof the employeremployee relationship, represent, and are certainly perceived by their membersas,averydifferentapproachtocollectivebargainingthanthatoftradeunions (Crompton,1976:422)1. The stratification approach, as Bain, Coates and Ellis point out (1973: 911), maintains that the social structure generates two sets of images, a dichotomous, powerbasedmodelwhichemphasizesclassdifferentials,andanhierarchical,prestige basedmodelwhichisassociatedwithindividualcareerism(Runciman,1966;Goldthorpe andLockwood,1963).Dahrendorfsuggestedthattheseimagesreflectclassdifferences: workerswouldseesocietyasadichotomywhereasthewhitecollarmanwouldseesociety asahierarchywhichincludesatopthatisabovehim,andabottomthatisbelowhim. By placing himself in the middle, he would develop a remarkably acute sense of distinction and social gradations (Dahrendorf, 1959: 283284). A statusideology, as outlined by Kenneth Prandy, accepts the hierarchy and its legitimations and accepts advancementthroughindividualmobilityasthenorm,whileaclassideologyemphasizes theconflictofinterestsandthedifferentialsinpower(1965:37).Whiletheseideologies representidealtypesandassuchwouldnotbeencounteredinexactlythepure,theorized form,manual workers and professionalworkerswouldtendtoadoptclassandstatus ideologiesrespectively. Thethesisassertsthataperspectivewhicharisesfromanindividualrelationship with an employer would tend to see society as a series of gradations, a continuous hierarchyofpositions.Advancewouldbeseenasindividuallyworkinguptopositionsof higher prestige and rewards. According to Giddens, the middle class would tend to perceivethesocialorderintermsofindividualisticnotionsofpersonalachievementand initiative,etc.(1973:115).Thisorientationwouldbeconsistentwiththetermsoftheir labourcontract,forinasituationwherethecontractmayappeartobemoreindividualistic thancollective,thereisamoresubstantialbasisforanideologythatemphasizespersonal achievement.Suchaperspectivewouldbeinimicaltotradeunionism,initially,because collectiveactionwouldberegardedasunnecessary. Nonmanualemployees,whoretainasenseoftheirindividualstatusasemployees butwhoneverthelessrequireamorecollectiveapproachtonegotiations,willbeinan ambiguouspositionrelativetothesetwocontrastingperspectives.Totheextentthatthese employeesretainastatusperspective,theywilltendtoeschewtradeunionism,particularly 16

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation itsconflictualaspects,infavouroflessmilitantbodies.Statusideologies,inthecontextofa coordinated employment situation, would more often be institutionalized into staff associations.Prandyarguesthat,incontrasttotradeunionswhichareclassbodies,these associationswouldbemoreconcernedwithmaintainingprestigethanwithbargaining withemployers,andhencewouldbeprimarilystatusbodies(1965:44). Classandstatusperspectivesare,inprinciple,independent.AsdefinedbyWeber, statusmeansaneffectiveclaimtosocialprestigeandisfoundedonlifestyle,education andhereditaryoroccupationalprestige.Statusisnotsolelydeterminedbyclassposition (Weber,1968:306)andmayitselfinfluence,ifnotcompletelydetermineaclassposition withoutbeingidenticalwithit.Therelationshipbetweenclasspositionsandstatusis complexandproblematic:classdistinctionsarelinkedinthemostvariedwayswithstatus distinctions(:187).Thisissoingeneral. Consciousnessofstatusandasenseofsocialgradationsarenotrestrictedtoone particular occupational category,such asnonmanualworkers,but rather pervadethe entirestructure.Prestigescalesarisefromtheevaluationsofpositionsrelativetoeach other.Allemployeesperceiveahierarchyandplacethemselveswithinit,althoughthey are most sensitive to those positions nearest their own. Furthermore it is generally recognizedthatstaffassociationsandunionsnotonlyrecognizetheoccupationalhierarchy butoftenexplicitlycontributetoitsmaintenancebybalancingdifferentials.Inthissense theyarebothstatusbodies. Occupationalgroups,forWeber,arealsostatusgroupsandincapitalistsocietythe classsituationisthemajorfactorbywhichstatusgroupsareformedforofcoursethe possibilityofastyleoflifeexpectedformembersofastatusgroupisusuallyconditioned economically(1968:190).Inperiodsoftechnicalandeconomictransformationstheclass positionispushedtotheforeandtheformofstatusstratificationthreatened;whenthe shifting ofeconomic stratification slowsdown,stratificationbystatusbecomesmore prominent(:194). Statusdifferentialsareundergirdedbyquantitativelyhigherorlowereconomic rewardswhichaccruetooccupations,providingtheincumbentswiththemeanstomake appropriateprestigeclaims.AccordingtoWeberthereisanhistoricallinkbetweenclass positionsthehierarchyofrewardsdeterminedbymarketsituationsandthestatus hierarchy.Sincethebasisofseparateprestigeclaimsismarketrelations,adeclineinthe latterwouldseemtoresultinadeclineintheformer.Henceactionstorestoreprestige would be based on strategies to increase market returns. Since status distinctions depended on unequal access to the symbols of prestige (Allen, 1971:95), economic processeswhichhavenarrowedthegapbetweenwhitecollarandbluecollarworkers have injected realism into their lives and revealed that their images were false (:63), 17

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation resulting in a loss of status and prestige. In this situation,whitecollar workers have increasinglyturnedtotradeunionmethodsbecausetheyknowtheyarelosingtheirstatus andrecognisethatthecausesareinstitutionalones(:96;Sturmthal,1966).Inthisrespect, tradeunionismcouldberegardedasameansforobtainingthesubstantialdifferentials upon which their claim to a higher prestige rested, an alternative means to achieve traditionalgoals(Mills,1956:308309;Strauss,1954:81). This instrumental connection between ends (appropriate rewards) and means (individualorcollective)isaffectedbyseveralfactors.Becausethetwodimensionsof stratificationareindependent,andbecausetheweightoflegitimatehistoricalclaimsto prestigewouldsurvivethedecline,thereisnoinevitableconnectionbetweenalossof economicbenefitsandanimmediatelossofeffectiveclaimstoprestige.Lockwoodhad arguedthatclericalworkers,whosufferedsomelossofeconomicreturns,remainedinan ambiguous status position because of the maintenance of many salient differentials, particularly those relating to the work situation of the employees, which continuedto reflectsomemeasureofrelativelyhighstatus. Millssuggestedthatthewhitecollargroupingwouldcontinuepressingclaimsto prestigebasedonthehollowresiduesofahigherstatusevenaftertheeconomicbasishad beencompletelydissolved(1956). Therelativelyfavourableemploymentconditionsofthepast,whichrepresenteda privilegedpositionforwhitecollarworkers,werealsoassociatedwithasocialimageor standingwhichinvolvedidentificationwiththeemployerintheonehandandastatus separation from manual workers. Over time the objective differentials which had separatedthemanualandnonmanualworkerswereeroded,andtheisolationfromthe employingclassincreased,underminingthebasisoftheideologyofsocialsuperiority. However,sincetheimage,oncecreated,obtainsapartiallyautonomousexistence,thenit would be possible for whitecollar workers to continue to hold the vestiges of their privilegedstatusirrespectiveofthedisappearanceofitseconomicfoundationandasa consequence they would continue to reject trade unionism and association with the workingclass.Itwasnotuncommonforlowerstatusgroupstomaintainidentification withstatussuperiorsinordertoemphasizetheirownrelativesuperiorityoveralower statusgroup(Merton,1958). This independent survival of a status dimension (which, as indicated above, continuestohaveamaterialpresenceitisnotmerelyanillusoryadvantage)isusedto explainthefailureofthedecliningmarketandworksituationstobeaccompaniedbya concomitantriseinunionisation.Consequently,onlyaminorityofwhitecollarworkers belongtounions(Rinehart,1975:96). FromaWeberianperspective,whilethereisahierarchyofmarketsituations,some 18

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation distinctionsaremorefundamentalthanothers.Allemployeespossesssomepropertyto bringtothemarketencounter,intermsofdifferentskills,butthemaindifferentialamong these conventionally propertyless is their possession of labouring or intellectual skills (Weber, 1986:302 305). While labouring skills were more often organized in larger employmentsituations,whichnecessitatedacollectiveresponse,intellectualspecialities continuedtobargainwithinanindividualrelationshipwithanemployer.Whileprestige mayultimatelybebasedonthereturnsavailablefromthestrongerbargainingpowerof individuals,itamountstomorethantheamountornatureoftherewardsandembracesthe meansusedtoobtainthem.Oneconsequenceofthisambiguitywastheperceptionofa contradictoryrelationshipbetweenstatusandeconomicreturnssuchthatalossofprestige wasentailedintheselectionofcollectiveandabandonmentofindividualmeanstoobtain thoseresourcesuponwhichtheclaimtoprestigewasbased.Sinceviolationofthemeans deemed legitimate jeopardized prestige, nonmanual workers in relatively privileged situationstendedtoadopt,atfirst,lessunionateformsofcollectiveactionwhichdidnot implyaconflictualrelationshipwithmanagement.Sincetheirsocialprestigerestedona separationfrommanualworkers,itincludedadisdainforaggressivemeansofpursuing apparently selfish interests, with the whitecollar workers tended to cling to a service mentality.Consequently,militantactionisdifficulttoreconcilewiththeirsocialimage (Allen,1971:97).Havingdenigratedindustrialactioninthepast,theyareconcernedthat their reputation will be damaged if they eschew more neutral dispute resolution mechanismssuchasarbitrationinfavourofmoreaggressiveactionswhichmaybeless sociallypermissible(:64). Finally,evenifstatusperspectivesarosehistoricallyandareperpetuatedbythe reproductionofcertaindifferentialsatwork,theyarereinforcedbysocialpractices.The conditionsofemploymentofwhitecollarworkhavebeensufficientlydistincttoengender different forms of collective response and different employer attitudes. In turn, whitecollarunionsareseenbythetradeunionmovementasbeingdistinct.Inadditionto amoreconciliatoryattitudetowards,andareluctancetoattack,management,theunion approach used different terms which evoke different responses: rather than workers organizedinlocals,havingshopstewards,whitecollarpeopleareemployees,organizedin divisions,withrepresentatives.Theyformassociations,alliancesorinstitutesratherthan unions. (Blum, 1971:3032). In their organizing drives some unions emphasize psychological differences between manual and nonmanual workers and may make invidiouscomparisonsbetweenthem(:39). Thestratificationapproachhadassertedthattherewasasystematiclinkbetweenthe class position of manual and non manual workers and, respectively, class and status ideologies.Althoughstatusconsciousnessisnotspecifictononmanualworkers,thelink 19

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation betweenclasspositionandunionismwasreinforcedbysystematicdifferencesproducedby thelabourmarket.Inthisrespectthemaindifferenceisinthemeansofnegotiatingthe labour contract. Nonmanual workers more often negotiate the conditions of their employment individually and perceive their skills more directly as property, an individualisticnotionwhichdefinessuccessaspersonalcareeradvancement.Manual workersmoreoftenfindthemselvesinasituationofmorecollectiveemploymentwhichis more conducive to a less individualistic consciousness (though not necessarily a less particularisticone).Totheextentthatthesedifferentconditionsprevail,thenideological differenceswouldbepredictedbetweenmanualandnonmanualworkers. Processes intrinsic to the capitalist division of labour which have affected the nonmanual workforce have broken down the connection between individualistic employment and nonmanual work in many cases. Secondly, the link between such cooperativeemploymentandcollectiveconsciousnessspecificallytradeunionismhas beenchallengedbyareiterationofafalseconsciousnessthesiswhicharguedthat,since class and status were in principle independent, claims to prestige could be sustained despiteanerosionofthebasisofsuperiority.Thisdidnotimply,however,theabsenceof anydifferentialssinceidenticalsituationsarenotconducivetosystematicdifferencesin status. Given the tendency of the labour market to reproduce numerous distinctions, claims to prestige could still be based on objective differences. However, statistical connectionsdonotinthemselvesprovideananswertothequestionoftheextenttowhich theassociationreflectsaselflegitimationofaperceivedsuperiorposition.Finally,statusis perceivedwithinanideologicalcontextwhichincludestheinterestsoftheemployerand theorganizedexpressionofideologypromotedbyemployeeorganizations.Neitherof thesenecessarilyarticulatesaclassperspective,andthelatterneednotsupportaconflict consciousness.

E.WorkStructureandSectionalism
Thesecondissueraisedaboveinthediscussionconcerningtherelationshipbetween unioncharacterandtheconsciousnessofthemembershipwastheextenttowhichthe formerwasareflectionoftheinterestsofthemembersastheyperceivedthem.Theremay beaconsiderablediscrepancybetweenwhatanorganizationproclaimsandwhatmanyof itsmembersmaybepreparedtodo.Thisquestionraisesseveralissues:theimportanceof leadership,thedevelopmentofunionstaffpositions,thedegreeofheterogeneityofthe membership,andtherelationshipbetweenideologicalpracticesandsocialpositions. Thefirsttwoissuesconcernorganizationalstructureandinternalunionpolitics. Theidealsituationwouldbeafullyinformedmembershipdirectingtheaffairsoftheunion themselvesinamannercongruentwiththeirperceivedbestinterests.Inthissituationitis more reasonable to expect the union character to represent the consciousness of the 20

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation membership,althoughtheremaybeadiscrepancybetweenactualanddesiredgoalssince unions are constrained by both legislation and employer response. To the extent that desired goals are not incorporated in union policy, for example a situation in which membership seeks the right to strike but no such right exists in legislation and no resolution to the effect has been devised within the union, then there would be a discrepancybetweenunioncharacterandtheconsciousnessofthemembers. Thesecondqualification,inanemployeesituationofasubstantialsize,istheneedto delegateleadershipwiththeauthoritytobargainoverthesaleoflabourpoweranddirect union business on a daytoday basis. To the extent that this leadership attains an autonomousroleinshapingthepolicyandproclaimedinterestsofthemembership,then there is created a new particular interest based on authority relations within the organization(Michels,1962:283284).Effortstorestrictthisparticularism,tocompelthe leadership to pursue interests congruent with those of the membership are usually institutionalized in union structures. Such devices as regular meetings, referendums, leadership reviews, policy conventions, and so on are essentially means to realize a modicumofinternaldemocracy. Formalleadership,however,isinapowerfulpositiontodefinemembersinterests, bothformallyandactually.Theydisseminateinformationandknowledge,andshapethe discoursewithinwhichevaluationsaremadeandintermsofwhichobjectivesarespecified andmeansplanned.Theautonomyofleadershipisenhancedbythepotentialquiescence ofthemembership.Unionstructurescandissuademembershipfromactiveinvolvement andcentralizeinitiativeinrelativelyfewhands.Thisconditionofmembershipindifference maydevelopinanyunion,despiteasuccessful,militantbeginning,butwhenaunionis largelyacreationofmanagementandthisisthecaseformanywhitecollarassociations membershipdisinterestmaybetheoriginalconditionofitsexistence. The tendency for leadership to separate itself from the membership is further developed by the requirement, in the context of increasingly sophisticated collective bargaining, for technically competent staff versed in legal procedures and capable of conducting negotiations in an increasingly rarefied and specialized situation. This expansion of the organization is associated with potential goal displacement, the development of institutional needs which are different from those of the membership (Hyman and Fryer, 1975). The issue of difference, however, is separate from that of contradictionandthelatterdoesnotnecessarilyariseautomaticallyfromtheformer.The goalsoftheunion,suchasunity,financialsolvency(HymanandFryer,1975).Theissueof difference, however, is separate from that of contradiction and the latter does not necessarilyariseautomaticallyfromtheformer.Thegoalsoftheunion,suchasunity, financialsolvencyandadministrativeefficiencyarenotnecessarilyinoppositiontothe 21

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation interestsofthemembership.Theleadershipischargedwiththelongrangeperceptionof interests and usually justifies any shortterm sacrifices in these terms. A question of interpretationarises,forexample,inthedecisiontoinsureduescheckoffattheexpenseof acompromisewhichstrengthensthepositionofemployersduringstrikes.Theissueof longerterminterestsbecomesentangledwiththeparticularinterestsofthestaffwhose securityofemploymentmaydependonfinancialsolvency. Given a more spontaneous tendency for enterprisespecific awareness to predominatetheunionconsciousnessofemployees,itcouldbearguedthat,despitethe separationofleadershipfrommembership,theformercouldbemeetingtheinterestsofthe latter,asthemembersperceivethem.Seenintheseterms,successfulleadershipmaybe representativeofthemembershipevenifitisisolated.Thefailureoftheleadershipto deliveranacceptablecontractcanleadtotherejectionoftheirlegitimacy.Dependingon theviabilityofthestructureswhichpermitmembershipinputintounionpolicy,alternative leadershipcouldbedevelopedmorecongruentwithmembersinterests.Thistendencyfor thedevelopmentofparticularinterestsandprocessestorestricttherelativeautonomyof leadershippreventsthecharacteroftheunionfromvaryingbeyondcertainlimitsfromthe consciousness of the members only to the extent that the means are effective. An alternative response to a failure of the union is disillusionment, or acceptance of the situation.Themoredemonstrativeindividualsareinexpressingtheirintereststhemore confidentanobservercanbethatpoliciesadvancedreflectmembersperceptions. Themembership,however,isnotanhomogenousgrouping.Whilenonmanual workers more often work in conditions which tend to make unionisation a more problematicprocess,manualworkers,eventhoseinmassindustries,donotconsistently adopt a conflict perspective. First, the social situation is seldom a matter of a simple relationshipbetweenanemployerandaunifiedbodyofhomogeneousemployees.There may be important structural reasons in the workplace itself which prevents manual workersfromdevelopingatraditionalproletarianperspective(Lockwood,1966).Second, evaluationsarenotentirelygivenbystructuraldeterminants. The structurallybased differences are especially significant in the mass unions which organize industrywide and contain members from diverse classifications, occupationsandworksettings.Theywillcontainnumerousparticularismsinadditionto commonormutualinterestsreflectingthediversityinsocialrelationships.Atboththe workplaceandcommunitylevelsspecificloyaltiestoparticulargroupswithinthelarger wholecandevelopandbecomethefocalpointofsocialinterestsandinterestedsocial action. Since social situations need not form separate wholes but can overlap and be inconsistent, the diversity of social perspectives is enhanced (Brown and Brannen, 1970:207). 22

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation Inthissituationofheterogeneity,leadershippositionsmaybedominatedbyspecific interestswhorepresentadominantsubsetwithinthestructureandareinstrumentalin shaping the common aims. Particularly in whitecollar organizations, the higher classifications may be initially most active in the organization and come to hold a disproportionateshareoftheexecutivepositions.Theprobabilityofsuchleadershipmay beonefactorinmanagementsdecisiontorecognizeastaffassociation.Suchasituation introducesabiasintotheorganization,forthedominantgroupmaydefineinterestsmore congruentwithitsownthanwiththoseinotherpositions.Forexample,theymayprefer percentageratherthanacrosstheboardwageincreasesbecausetheymaintaineconomic differentials. The position of the leadership grouping is also important because of its preponderant influence in shaping the philosophy of the organization as well as its relationshiptotheemployer,thelabourmovementandthesocietyasawhole.Inthis situationofrelativelyunequalinfluenceandpower,thelinkbetweenthecharacterofthe unionandtheclasspositionofitsmembershipbecomesincreasinglyhardtospecify.A conceptionofanaverageinterestmaybeinappropriateandinternalpoliticsmaybemore important in determining the character of the organization. Nevertheless, given this analysis,itisstillmaintainedthatthischaracterisafunctionofmembership,althoughthis isqualifiedtotheextentthatitisnecessarytoidentifyadominantsubsetwithintheunion whichshapesthecharacteraccordingtoitsparticularinterestsanditsdefinitionofthe generalinterests. CousinsandDavis,inrejectingtheargumentthattheincorporationoftheworking classincontemporarycapitalismisanideologicalphenomenon,assertthatthisresultsfrom morethanthelackofstructuralhomogeneity(1974:277).Thesocialdivisionoflabourinits commodityformimpliesspecializationintooccupationsandindustrieswithcompeting claimsovertasksandrewards,andasdifferentlabourmovements(:285).Adualistic consciousnessamongworkersdoesnotarisedirectlyfromsectionalism,whichcannotyield enduringandinternallycoherentideologies,butratherfromthesocialdivisionoflabour determined by commodity production. Given this context they conclude that: Subordination,hermeticprivatisationofworkingclassculture,incorporation,arethus notculturalorpoliticalproducts.Theyareanecessaryandlogicalfeatureofthesystemof commodityproduction.Butsoisthepotentialfortheiropposite(:285).Alienationtakes several logical forms: first, individual mobility to more independent, less subordinate positions, thereby emphasizing the commodity nature of labour; second, isolation of private aspects of life from the commodity market; and third, a notion of replacing coordinationbythecapitalistorthemarketbyplanningandsocialcontrol,thatis,by rejectingthecommoditystatusoflabour(:284285). Inonlyasmallminorityofcasesdoesprivatizationtaketheformofareturnto 23

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation subsistence living, and thereby indicate a withdrawal from the market economy. Backtothelandfarmersandyoungartisansperforminghandcraftsmoreoftenseekaless dependentpositionvisvisthecommoditymarket.Formostemployees,privatization involves an emphasis on leisure activities. These, however, are being increasingly commodifiedandthisinturnemphasizesthecommoditystatusofworkthroughtheneed to secure greater resources to support the needs of private consumption. That is, it supportsaninstrumentalorientationtowork.AlthoughMacKinnon(1980)foundthat workinstrumentalism,ratherthanarisingasanorientationexternalandpriortothework, wasstronglyaffectedbyworkconditionsandwasacomponentofworkalienation,the two aspects extrinsic and intrinsic to the work situation, may both tend to reinforce instrumentalism. Inaddition,theestablishmentofthebasisforcompetingideologiesinonestructure thecommoditymarketforlabourmustnotobscurethefieldofideologyandpolitics.It is one thing to assert that the selling of labour power will inevitably generate both individualisticandcollectiveideologies,andasecondthingtoisolatesociologicalfactors whicharerelatedtothespecificreproduction,amongconcretegroupings,ofthevarious ideologies. The analysis must go further then merely to assert the logical range of responses in order to understand the modes of ideological reproduction and transformation. Undercapitalistconditions,Marxistshaveargued,theseeminglyfreewagecontract andtherecognitionthatworkersarepaidthefullmarketpricefortheirlabourpower, combinetomystifytheprocessbywhichasurplusispumpedoutofthedirectproducers. Thewealthwhichhasbeencreatedislegallyappropriatedastheconverseofthewages paidandtheillusionofatransferofequivalentsaffected.Inthissensethereisabasisin realityforacknowledgingthelegitimacyofthewagecontract.Thisprovidesonereasonfor recognizingtherelativelyspontaneousadoptionofanideologywhichconfinesitselftothe termsofsaleoflabourpowerwhiledistinguishingthisfromaclassperspectivewhich,in itsmoredevelopedexpression,attemptstodelegitimizeprivateappropriation. Itfollowsfromtheconceptofthecollectivelabourerthattheworkersaredependent in a very concrete sense on management. The modern factory represents a highly developedformofsocialproductionandthishelpstoexplainthefindingthattheworkers tend to view the firm as a team. The use of this image has important ideological implications.Theteamimageisconsciouslypromotedbymanagementandthemedia, whichcanbringsubstantialresourcestoitsdissemination.AtleastinNorthAmericathe image of the unity of the interests between labour and capital has frequently been promotedbyunions.Furthermoretheconceptitselfdoesnotimplytheabsenceofinternal differences.Theinterestsofthetwoprincipalsareneveridenticalinallrespectsandthis 24

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation latentantagonismisatleastimplicitintheresponses,althoughinaspecificconjuncture relations may appear harmonious. There is room for the co existence of relatively contradictory perceptions and consequently social attitudes are not fixed but are emphasizedordeemphasizeddependingonthecontext. Whichaspectofthecomplexofrelationshipsistheprimarydeterminingfactor, while being conditioned by structural processes, is not a simple matter because organizationalformanddiscourseinterveneinthedeterminationofaction.Commenting onastudyofDurhamminers,RichardScasestressedthepointthatworkersevenina traditionalcommunityhadtobeconvertedtotheproletarian,dichotomousoutlook,and heemphasizedtheroleofideologyinshapingsocialsituationaldefinitions.AsFrank Parkinsuggests,althoughthereisafactualandmaterialbasistoclassinequality,thereis morethanonewayinwhichitcanbeinterpreted.Factsalonedonotprovidemeanings, andthewayapersonmakessenseofhissocialworldwillbeinfluencedbythenatureof the meaningsystems he draws upon (Parkin, 1971). With regard to the new middle stratum in Germany, Geiger held that they corresponded objectively to the Marxist definition of the proletariat but their feelings of being dclass made for a conscious separationfromtheworkingclass.Whiletheydevelopedacollectiveconsciousness,as thejokeofhistoryandthefullestexpressionofthefailureofScientificMarxism,itwas manifest by their recruitment into fascist parties (1969:9495). Besides the objective patternsofstructuralrelationships,imagesofsocietyareshapedbynormativeinfluences andinterpretationsgeneratedbywidersocialprocesses(Scase,1974:171). Thetradeunionmovementitselfisonesuchforce.Blumpointstotheneedfora whitecollar organizing drive to serve as a catalyst to create the sense of class consciousness(1971:24).Thepotentialforaworkingclassorientationforsuchadrive wouldbeanimportantfactorinthelonghistoricalprocesswhichheindicatedwouldbe necessaryforwhitecollaremployeestochangetheiridentificationfromthemiddleclassto manualworkers.Itfollowsthattheviewwhichseestradeunionconsciousnessasthe resultofanentirelyspontaneousprocessdeterminedbyobjectivefactors,incontrastto classconsciousnesswhicharisesonthebasisofdirectideologicalandpoliticalintervention is,inthisabsoluteformulation,afalsedichotomy. Millsarguedthatindividualscouldbebothunconsciousoftheirinterestsandfalsely consciousofthem.Hedrewasharpdistinctionbetweenontheonehand,economicand socialfactsand,ontheotherhand,psychologicalfeelings,assertingthattherewasnot necessarilyacloseassociationbetweenthem(1956:294).Atbest,subjectiveattributesmust bestatedasprobabilitiesonthebasisofobjectivelydefinedsituationsandassociatedwith various strata within which several sociological dimensions intersect, including class, occupation, status and so on. This disjunction between economic facts and conscious 25

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation representationsisafurtherlimitationonthesupposedlinkbetweenthecharacterofa union and the consciousness of its members. As Mills stressed, the link can only be ascertainedintheaggregate,onaprobabilitybasis. Theindustrialrelationsapproachsensitizestheresearchertothewidercontextof classaction,theimportanceoftheclassstrugglewhichcomprisesmorethanoneagent,the business cycle, the facilitative role of the state, the structure of industry, the nature of competingorganizations.Itraisesquestionsaboutthedifferencesinthecompositionof membership,theroleofleadershipandthepotentialsforadiscrepancytoexistbetweenthe policyofanorganization,theconsciousnessofitsmembersandtheirvariedresponses. The wider sociology of trade unionism does not necessarily refute the thesis of the stratificationschoolthatthereis,ingeneral,aconnectionbetweentheclasspositionofan employeeandhisunionconsciousnessandresponse.However,byspecifyinganumberof mediatinginfluencesandinterveningvariables,thisapproachindicatessomeofthesources ofsystematicvariationfromthepredictedidealtypes,whetherofastructural,ideological orpoliticalnature. Notes 1Thisconceptualdifferenceisarticulatedmostforcefullybythosecommittedin principletotradeunionismandCromptonsconclusionsweredrawnfromherinterviews withunionactivists.Inresponse,Heritagehasclaimedthatemployees,ingeneral,donot recognize the ideological differences between these types of organizations (1980:283). Nevertheless,manydodrawanimportantdistinctionbetweenthemwhileconfiningthisto arelativelynarrowsphereprimarilyconcerningmilitancy.

OCCUPATIONANDUNIONCHARACTER
Blackburnsconceptionofunionatenessdenotestheunderstandingthattradeunion consciousness can be present to varying degrees. Consistent with the view that trade unionismisatleastimplicitlyaclassactivitysinceitisconcernedwiththetermsofexchange inthelabourmarket,unionatenessinvolvestwodistinctlevels.Firstitisanexpressionof commoninterestsinanemploymentsituation,thatis,thespecificrelationshipofonegroup ofworkerswithoneemployer.Thisrelationshipcanberegardedasoneinwhichmutual interests are of overriding importance or one in which the conflict of interests are most crucial.Inturnonesetoftheseimmediateinterestsformthebasisofanacceptanceofa widercommonalityofinterestsamongemployeesindifferentworksituations. TheseorientationsweredefinedbyLockwoodasbeingimmediateandinstrumental respectively,althoughthedifferenceisdifficulttospecifyintheseterms.Generalinterests amonggroupsofcommonlysituatedworkerscanbeequallyasimmediateasthosethatarise withinonespecificlabourcontract.Thisdifferencebetweeninterestswhichwerespecifictoa givensituationandthosewhichweremorecommonoverawiderspectrumofemployment 26

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation situations was expresses in Lockwoods list of elements which denoted the class consciousnessofaunion.Theleveloftradeunionconsciousnesscouldbeindicatedby severalfactors: 1.thenameoftheorganization,orachangeinitstitle(e.g.fromassociationtounion); 2.thepurposeorchangeinpurposeoftheorganization(e.g.whetheritembracescollective bargainingmechanisms) 3.advocatingandusingcertainsanctions(e.g.thestrike) 4.bytheaffiliationoftheassociationtothewidertradeunionmovement 5.identificationoftheorganizationwiththepoliticalwingofthelabourmovement 6.sympatheticbehaviourincriticalclasssituations 7.thegeneralsocialandpoliticaloutlookofthemembershipandleadersoftheassociation (Lockwood,1958:137138). Someoftheseelements,suchasthepurposeoftheunionormethodsadopted,werespecific to the given employment situation. Others such as the name or title of the association reflectedbothitsinternalroleandpossiblyaconceptualisationoftheorganizationsplace amongsimilarbodies.Thelasttwomeasuresmoredirectlyreflectedaclassperspective and can be distinguished from the narrower conception of trade union consciousness specifiedearlier.Affiliationorpoliticalalignmentreferredtothewidercontextofgeneral interests.Finally,theoutlookofthemembersandleadersworldpermeatealloftheelements listed.Inaddition,thislistingincludedsuchdiverseissuesasattitude,adoptionofsanctions inprinciple,andactualbehaviour.Thelattertendstopredominateanditislargelywhatthe membersofanorganizationdo,expressedinpartbythetypeofassociationtheycreate, whichgivesanindicationoftheirclassconsciousness. WhileBlackburnwassimilarlyconcernedtomeasureclassconsciousness,heconfined hisdefiningelementsmorecloselytotradeunionismexcludingthewiderissuesofclass outlookorbehaviour.Classconsciousnesswasassociatedparticularlywiththecharacterof theuniontowhichtheemployeesbelonged.Thesamedistinctionbetweenlevelsofinterests appearedintheelementshespecifiedtomeasureunionateness: 1. the main function of the organization was collective bargaining and protection of membersinterestsasemployees; 2.theorganizationwasindependentoftheemployersforthepurposeofnegotiations; 3.itwaspreparedtobemilitant,usingallformsofindustrialactionincludingthestrike; 4.itdeclareditselftobeatradeunion; 5.itwasregisteredasatradeunion; 6.itwasaffiliatedtotheT.U.C.; 7.itwasaffiliatedtotheLabourParty. InlinewithLockwoodsconceptualization,unionatenesscombinedtwodistinctseriesof 27

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation elementsrelatingtotheleveloftheformationofadefensiveorganizationtoprotectemployee interestsandtotheprogressivelygreateridentificationoftheunionwiththetradeunion movementasawhole.Thefirstthreeofhiselementsreferredtothebehaviourandfunction oftheorganizationitselfwhilethelastfourmeasuredthelevelofidentification(oralliance) withthelabourmovement(Blackburn,1967:2021). SeveraldifficultieswiththeapplicationofthismeasurewereobvioustoBlackburn.It includedelementsofbothstatedpurposeandobservableactionalthoughtheformerneed notbeexpressedinthelatter.Theindicesdifferedonthelevelofmeasurementinvolved, somebeingcontinuousandothersdichotomous.Thesensegivenisthatthelistapproachesa scale,althoughBlackburndoesnotmakethisclaim.Hearguedthatthereisatendencyfor themalltovarytogether,buttheywerenotallequivalentsuchthatonecouldrepresentthe others.Someoftheitemsweredeclaredtobemorefundamentalthanothers,suchas declaringanorganizationtobeatradeunion(:42).Thiswasseenasproblematic,however, sincetherewerealwaysgoodreasonsfornotchanginganame.Finally,itwaspossibleto adopttheelementsselectively.AffiliationtotheT.U.C.,forexample,wouldnotnecessarily haveimpliedregistrationasatradeunionorapublicdeclarationofunionstatus(:38). As Blackburn noted (1967:20), there were two distinct subsets in the concept unionatenessconcernedwithemployeesimmediateemploymentinterestsandwiththeir relationshipwiththewiderunionmovement.Thisdistinctionwassubsequentlydrawnout farther and was conceptualized as a distinction between enterprise and society unionateness:Enterpriseunionatenessinvolvestheideaofaprogressionofactivitiesvisvis anemployer;anincreasingassertionofthedifferencesofinterestbetweenemployerand employeeandoftheindependenceoftherepresentativeassociation,aswellasthethreatof increasinglyseveresanctionstobackupclaims(Prandy,StewartandBlackburn,1976:431). Theemphasiswasplacedlessonbehaviourandmoreonthewillingnesstocountenance variousactivities.Theauthorsargue,forexamplethatuseofthestrikeisdependenton circumstances,whileacceptanceofthestrikeinprinciplewouldberelatedmoretoawider rangeofexperiences(:431). Societyunionatenessinvolvedarecognitionbytheorganizationofthesimilarityof itsintereststothoseofotherorganizationsandawillingnesstoallyitselfwiththem(:431). The concept was concerned with the interests defensive associations had in common, consistentwithLockwoodnotionofasimilarityofinstrumentalinterests.Theprincipal measureofthisrecognitionofwiderinterestsistheparticipationinthelabourmovementand thepoliticalwingofthismovement(inBritain,affiliationtotheTradeUnionCongressand theLabourParty). Althoughtheauthorsrecognizedthattherewerenumerouscasesinwhichthetwo aspectsofunionatenessvariedindependently(:430),theyarguedthattheywerelogically 28

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation connected.First,thosepursuingtheirinterestinaffectingthedistributionofrewardsin societyarelikelytoextendtheiractivitiesintothepoliticalorsocietalsphere(:432).Second, anorganizationwhichexistsinaparticularsettingtonegotiatewithanemployeroperatesin acontextofindustrialrelationspolicieswhichaffectallsuchbodiesandproducecommon interestsvisvisthestate. Thereisasecondveryimportantdistinctiondrawnbytheauthorsbetweenunion characterasmeasuredbythepositionsofanorganizationandunionattitudesamongthe membership.Inonesense,unioncharacterisindicatedbytheexplicitpurposesanddeclared intentionsoftheorganization.Thisformalcharacterisdeterminedbytheconstitutionandby decisionsofthegoverningbodies.Theproblemofmembershipinputintounionpolicyhas beenraisedabove.Despiteformalprocedurestomaximizetherepresentativenessofthe executiveoftheconventiondelegates,theremaybeconsiderabledifferencesbetweenthe understanding of the membership and their representatives. The less immediately accountable a representative is, the more room there isfor aparticularisticdefinition of interests.Besidesbeingchargedwiththelongerrangeinterestsoftheorganization,the representatives are subject to information and pressures which their members are not. Accountabilityoftentakestheformofexplainingthepositionsadopted,thatis,theformal unioncharacter,tothemembership.Again,consciousnessisaproductofarticulationaswell asposition. For many reasons, then, there exists a considerable discrepancy between what memberswishandwhatrepresentativesprocure;betweenwhatmembersbelieveandare preparedtodoandtheformalcharacteroftheirunion.Theremaybealimittothiscleavage, andmembershiprevoltsagainstunionleadersarenotuncommonalthoughanalternative responsewouldbedisillusionanddisinterestinunionaffairs.Inshort,unioncharactermay notbeacompletelyreliableguidetotheconsciousnessoftheemployeesthemselves.In additiontomeasuringtheformalcharacteroftheunion,theconceptofunionatenesswas usedbyBlackburntoassesstheleveloftradeunionconsciousnessamongmembersdirectly. Thismaybeamorereliablemethodforascertainingdifferencesinresponseamongvarious categoriesofemployees,particularlywhentheybelongtoanindustrialtypeunioninwhich, atbest,theformalcharacterrepresentsonlyanotionofameaninterestoftheconstituent parts,andfortestingtherelationshipbetweenunionismandoccupationalposition. Enterpriseunionateness (i)NeedforCollectiveOrganisation Itwasarguedabovethatthenatureoftheemploymentsituationis,fundamentally,an individualrelationshipwithanemployer.Fromthepointofviewoftheemployeeitishis specificjobandhecanbelaidoffindividuallyorfiredfromhisposition,orfindabetter situation. However, it was further argued that employees in more autonomous work 29

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation situations would be in a position in which this individual, careerist orientation would predominateandanynegotiationoverthetermsofsaleoflabourpowerwouldbeamore individualisticaffair.Whilethoseinrelativelyhomogeneous,moreconcentratedandless personalemploymentsituationsaremorelikelytoseekcollectivemeanstodefendtheir interests,themoreautonomousemployeemaybemorelikelytoemphasizehispeculiar marketopportunitiesandseecollectiverepresentationasunnecessaryandperhapsharmful to his interests since his own particular demands may be submerged in the overall bargaining.Shouldtheserelativelyautonomousorprivilegepositionschangetoadegree, theremaydevelopafeltneedforsometypeofassociationdespiteapreferencethattherebe none. AccordingtoPrandy,etal.,thelargestsingleempiricalgapisbetweenfeelingnoneed foranassociationofanysortandcomingtoaccepttheneedforcollectiverepresentation.The beliefinanindividualisticcareeradvancecouldbeseenasanalternativetoorganisation. Thosedoingcollectiveworkwho,nevertheless,believethemselvestobeonacareerescalator, wouldreactambivalentlyintermsoftheirassessmentofshorttermgainsandlongterm losses.Butwiththegeneralspreadofunionismtorelativelyprivilegedgroups,adopting collectivemeansmaybemoreacceptableandmoreprobable. (ii)LabourManagementCommittees Theemploymentsituation,however,isnotonlyamatterofnegotiatingtermsand settingthelimitstothedirectcontrolofmanagementoverthemannerofcarryingonwork. Thereisalsotheworkitself,bothinthenarrowsenseoftheemployeesownspecialityandof theoverallgoalsoftheenterprise.Differentjobsituationsarerelativelymorealienatingas well as more or less rewarding. Some, especially those areas which involve defined responsibilityforsegmentsoftheoperation,willtendtobeassociatedwithanorientation whichemphasisesthegoodofthelargerwhole,alwaystemperedwiththegoodoftheir particularunitwithinit.Inthissituationalabourmanagementcommitteemaybeseenasa possibleforumforjointdiscussionofmattersofmutualinterest:thebettermanagementof theenterprise. Definedinthisway,thegeneralisassumedtotakeprecedenceovertheparticularand thelabourmanagementcommitteewouldbeapoordeviceforsecuringsectionalends,orthe endsofemployeeswithrespecttomanagement.Ingeneral,however,suchcommitteesare notorganisedtoexpressthecommongoal.Theyoftenariseasaresultoftheemployees desire to have some effect in determining their conditions of work. The formation of a labourmanagementcommittee,inthesepreciseterms,isatleastimplicitlyrecognitionof thedistinctinterestsofthetwopartiesandalthoughtheformaldefinitionofthecommittee maybetomaximisecommongoals,labourmayuseitasarepresentativeinstrumenttopress its own claims. Questions about the terms of reference of the committee, its sphere of 30

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation competence,itsmethodsofreachingadecision,itsstatusasaconsultatoryoradvisoryor managingbody,themeansofimplementingdecisions,aswellassuchinternalissuesas electing a chairman, the voting procedure, even the daily agenda all of these become politicalmattersandpotentiallyitemsofconflictwhichclarifythedifferentinterestswithin theenterprise. Iftheexpressedneedforcollectiverepresentationisthemostgeneralstatementofthe dissatisfactionwiththeeffectsofindividualbargaining,thelabourmanagementcommittee mayberegardedasoneoftheleastconflictualformsofassociation,initsconceptualisationas aconsultationbodyoperatingasanarmofmanagementforenlighteneddecisionmaking.It canbeseenasanalternativetotradeunionswhichembodythespiritofconflictofinterests, of sectional ends seen as contradicting common goals. The term labourmanagement denotesmutualityandharmony. Buteveninthecaseofmoreautonomousandprivilegedworkers,therearedifferences betweenemployerandemployeeandthepracticeofthecommittee,asdescribedabove, makesadegreeofconflictprobable.Althoughitisanintricatecombinationofparticularand generalends,thelatterpredominate.Tradeunionsmayalsotakeintoconsiderationthegoals of the enterprise, but the labourmanagement committee is explicitly structured for this purpose. In this sense it is often seen as an alternative to other forms of more overtly conflictualformsoforganisation,asCromptonclaims(1976).Neverthelesssomeformof collectiveconsciousnessisrequiredfortheexpressionofaneedorpreferenceforsucha committee.Ingeneral,those inpositionsofauthorityorwithclearprospectsforcareer advance would most likely, at least initially, limit their collective consciousness to less conflictualforms. (iii)Collectivebargaining IftheLabourManagementcommitteeemphasisescollectivegoalsandtheultimate authorityofmanagement,collectivebargainingisafurtherstatementoftheindependenceof thetwopartiesintheemploymentrelationship.Whilecollectiveconsciousnessisexpressed inalabourmanagementforuminaformwhichrecognisestherightsofmanagementto makefinaldecisions(atleastasthispracticeisinstitutionalisedinNorthAmerica),collective bargainingisaprocesswhichoperatesattheleveloftheformalandlegalequalityofthetwo partiesforthepurposeofnegotiatingthetermsandconditionsofemploymentacceptableto bothparties.Itpresupposesasenseofcollectivityamongtheemployees,arecognitionthat theyhavecommoninterestsvisvismanagementandthattheirendscanbestbemetina representativeorganisation.Thereisconflictamongtheemployeesbetweengoalstheyhave incommonandpossiblesectionalvariationsfromthese,andthedecisiontoadoptcollective bargaining will depend on the extent to which sectional and common ends can be met relativetoanysacrificeswhichhavetobemadetoaccommodatethesectionalinterestsof 31

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation otherpartiesinthealliance.Themoreconcentratedandhomogeneoustheemployment situationthemorelikelyisitthattheemployeeswillseektomaximisetheiradvantages throughcollectivepressure.Groupswillresistsuchorganizationtotheextentthattheycan meettheirsectionalendsinotherways,ortheirpositioninthelargerunitisunderminedby theinterestsofmorepowerfulparties.Thisresistancemaybereinforcedbymanagement practiceswhichextendconcessionsgrantedother,oftenunionised,workerstothosewhoare notorganised,eithergratuitouslyorthroughindependentcommitteestructures. However,asaformofenterprisespecificunionism,thetermcollectivebargaining itselfhaswiderconnotationsandisassociatedwithmanualtradeunionism,withthepursuit ofsectionalendscontradictingthebestinterestsoftheenterprise,withanideology.The termswithinwhichthenegotiationsarecouchedreflectsthewidersocialcontextandare implicitlyevaluationsofit.Withrespecttoenterpriseunionateness,thebasicdifferencelies inthespecificsofnegotiating.Collectivebargainingisenforcedbythestate;itinvolves writtenagreementsbindingonthepartiesandspecifiesremedies.Itisaconsiderablestep beyondalabourmanagementcommittee,ascommonlypracticed,senseitinstitutionalisesan adversarialsystememphasisingtheseparationoftheinterestsofthepartiesratherthantheir mutualenterprisegoalinterests.Itunderlinestheinequalitiesofpowerandtheneedtogain bargainingpowerthroughsomecollectiveactionandtohavethetermscarefullyspecified ratherthantrustinginthegoodwillofmanagement.Theproblemoftenarises,however,that thecompromisesreachedthroughnegotiationsreflectthispowerposition.Withoutsome remedyforapotentialbreakdownonirreconcilabledifferences,collectivebargainingmaybe ablankcartridge. (iv)CompulsoryArbitration Iffor some the acceptanceofcollective bargainingwasthe sinequanonoftrade unionism,ofanattitudetolabourmanagementrelationswhichemphasisedconflict,for othersthechiefdistinctionbetweenthetwoformswasnotaquestionofnegotiations,which couldbecarriedoninanadversarialoragentlemanlymanner,butofthesanctionswhich could be imposed on recalcitrant parties and the meaning of such sanctions. The most generousassumptionwasthatgoodwillwouldprevailandnegotiationwouldbeconcluded inageneralagreementbasedonthefactsandreasonedargumentspresented. Ifthisreasonableapproachtonegotiationsisfoundtofail,thencompulsoryarbitration mayberegardedasasuitableinstrumentwhichwouldbefairtobothpartiesandallowfor theadjudicationofadisputewithoutthenecessityforadisplayofforcebyeitherparty. Acceptanceofarbitrationimpliedarealisationthatinterestedpartiescouldsometimesfailto agree,abeliefintheeffectivenessofneutralmechanismsandabeliefthatbargainingneed notimplyaconflictoverpower. Therearemanyobjectionstotheuseofarbitrationprocedures.Amongthemwould 32

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation betheclaimthataneutralbodywouldbeunabletojudgethemeritsofaspecificcaseand consequently would be prone to mistaken interpretations and unjust awards. It made considerabledifferencewhowasappointedtotheBoardandtotheChairmanship.ABoard mightbemorepronetodefinetheawardintermsofbroadeconomicfactors,asituation labour representatives regard as accepting managements definition of the situation. In addition,Boardsoftenoperatelargelyonprecedentandthismakesthearbitrationrouteless innovative with respect to workers demands for new concessions, not only in salary negotiationsbutespeciallyintheareaofworkingconditionsandmanagementprerogatives. Ingeneral,arbitrationwillberegardedasanacceptablealternativetomoremilitant remediesbythosemoreprivilegedemploymentsituations.Moreimportantly,however, arbitrationmaybearoutepreferredbythosewhofeelthattheydonothavetheappropriate powerbasewithwhichtocompelemployerstoaccepttheirterms.Oritmayreflectan ideologicalpreferenceforanonadversarialrelationshipwiththeemployer.Intheformer case,arbitrationmaybepreferredbybluecollarworkerswholacktheeconomicstrengthto force compliance with their terms; whitecollar workers, especially those in more autonomoussituationswillbeinasimilarposition.Thosewithconnectionstoauthority, whetherimmediatelyorpotentially,willmorelikerespondintermsofthelattercase.Again, although the difference will not be exclusively along a manual/nonmanual line, more nonmanualworkershavetraditionallybeeninlesscollectivesituationsandwilltherefore adoptlessunionateforms.Aswiththedifferencebetweenlabourmanagementcommittees andcollectivebargaining,thedistinctionbetweenarbitrationandthestrikeisnotsimply moreorlessunionatebutcanberegardedasalternatives.Thiswouldmakethescalabilityof theitemsproblematic. (v)IndustrialAction Thesanctioningofrelativelymildformsofcollectiveindustrialactionisafurther stageintherecognitionoftheindependenceoftheinterestsseparatingmanagementand employees.Itinvolvesabeliefthattheinterestsarenotmerelydifferentbutthatsomeactual use of power is required to induce acceptance of union demands. There is logically a considerablegapbetweenthepotentialforreasonablenegotiationsandtheuseofforce,but the perception of the failure of arbitration often leads to acceptance of more conflictual approaches,thetypedependinglargelyonthepossibilitiesinherentinthesituation. Onthejobactionhastheusefuleffectthatitpermitsacontinuationofemployment andhenceearnings.Atthesametime,essentialworkisdoneastheemployeesstrivetomeet atleastamodicumofthecommoninterestsintheenterprise.However,itmaybemore difficult,becausemorepersonal,toremainatworkandconsistentlyworktorule,especially insmalleremploymentsituations.Industrialactionofteninvolvesdirectconflictwiththe supervisoronthefirstlineofauthoritywhoinmanycasesisanobjectofspecialenmity. 33

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation Depending on the exclusions policy of the collective agreement, many lowerlevel supervisorsmayalsobeunionmembers,placingtheminaprecariousposition.Formany, theoptionsofonthejobactionmaybelesspalatablethananactualstrike.Hereagain,the choice of tactics raises issues beyond a desire notto antagonise managementor disrupt services.Workersinweakbargainingpositionsmaypreferonthejobactionwheretheir effectivenesswillhaveagreaterpotential,althoughtheyfacethepossibilityofalockout.On theotherhand,weakunitsinwhichthereislittlecollectivesupportforindustrialactionwill tendtoeschewsuchtactics. (vi)TheStrike Thestrikeisthehighestsanctiondiscussedunderenterpriseunionateness.More radicalmeasurescouldbeincludedonthescalesuchasplantoccupations.Blackburns unionatenessscale,however,emphasisesonlythoselegalmeanswhichmaybeconsidered part of the normal run of collective bargaining. In addition there are also numerous intermediate sanctions which could be imposed: collecting signatures on a petition, organisinganinformationpicket,holdingaprotestdemonstrationormarchandsoon,many ofwhichcouldbeundertakeninlieuofastrikeorduringsuchindustrialaction.Thestrike remainstheultimatelegalsanctionandisanexplicitrejectionoftheimmediategoalsofthe enterprise,intheshortrun.Itisastatementthattheconflictofinterestscanonlybesettled byademonstrationofpower. Itisthisovertstatementofconflictwhichstrikesdirectlyattheattitudeofemployee loyaltyandemployerpaternalism.Yetthereismoretothestrikeweaponthanastatementof irreconcilabledifferencesandmorereasonsforrejectingtheoptionthanidentificationwith management,orthebeliefinthegoalsoftheenterprise.Itisavisiblypublicactwhichis usually accompanied by picketing, strike pay normally being dependent on active participation.Foragrouprelativelynewtoindustrialmilitancy,theimmediatelypersonal experience of being demonstrably on strike, confronting the public, attempting to bar strikebreakers,seeingsupervisorsgoingthroughthelines,isaccompaniedbyconsiderable hardshipandgroupsrequiresomeselfassurancetowillinglyparticipate. Thereisalsothefactorofmaterialhardship.Instraightfinancialtermsstrikersoften losemorethantheygain,althoughadvantagesgainedinworkingconditionsarelesseasily specifiedinmonetaryterms.Ataminimumfamilyconsumptionislimitedfortheduration. Insomecases,particularlyingovernmentemployment(althoughwildcatstrikescanoccur inanyjurisdiction),thestrikemaynotbealegitimatesanction.Inthiscasethequestionof unionconsciousnessinvolveslesstheactualisationofastrikeandmoretheexpressionofthe needtohavethelegalrighttowithdrawservices.Infairlyextremecircumstancesemployees will resort to illegal strikes or, especially in semiprofessional employment, to mass resignations. The effectiveness of the resignation is partly dependent upon the market 34

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation situationandonthemoraljustificationfortakingtheaction.Incertainservicesituations, whereasthestrikeisseenastheabandonmentofresponsibility,theresignationmaybeseen asputtingprinciplefirst,assacrificingpersonalinterest.Whileresignationsmayberegarded asthelogicalextensionofanindividualisticemploymentsituation,itisseldomusedbecause oftheinsecurityandtheinevitablethreatthatthejobmaybelostpermanently. The strike has the strongest overtones of employer/employee conflict and the acceptanceofthestrikewouldvarywithpositionintheproductivesystem.Again,however, this broadly includes such factors as relative autonomy, authority function, degree of collectivity,bargainingstrength,careerprospects,andsoon.Theissueoftherighttostrike ingovernmentserviceraisesotherimportantquestions.Thesewillbediscussedinmore detailbelow. (i)Scopeoforganisation The most general form of established trade unionism involves the relationship betweenoneemployerandabodyofemployees.Ifthissituationwascharacteristicofthe labourmarketasawhole,thenitwouldbereasonabletoenvisageonetradeunion,onesetof negotiationsandonecomplexcontract.Giventhedivisionoflabourintodistinctoccupation andthedivisionoftheworkforcebetweendistinctenterprises,theformationoftradeunions wouldreflectthisdivisiveness. The conditions of the labour market imply, for employees, a position of relative cooperation with the employer and competition between peers. For manual and nonmanualworkersaswellassubsetswithineachcategorysuchasskilledcraftsmenor professionals,thedegreeofrecognitionofcommoninterestscouldstopatspecificsocially definedbarriers.Therestrictionoftherealisationofcommonintereststooneemployment situationcouldbeexpandedbybroadeningthedefinitionofintereststoincludeawider scopeofsimilaremploymentsituations.Inprinciple,membersofanoccupationalcategory withaspecificlabourskillcouldselltheirlabourtoanyemployerrequiringthatqualityof labourand arefreetochangeemployers.Thereexists,then,awidernexusofcommon interestsvisvisthebodyofemployersandawiderconceptionofunionismwouldreflect this condition by establishing common terms and help to eliminate competition among themselves.Abroaderscopeoforganisationalmembership,then,expressesrecognitionofa widersetofcommoninterests.Thisscopeisarticulatedthroughaclaimedjurisdictionwhich maybeapositiveinclusionofsimilarlysituatedemployeesoranegativeexclusionofothers. Secondly,thescopemaybeincreasedbyincludingawiderdiversityofoccupationsin thesingleenterprise,orincombinationwiththefirsttype,inseveralenterprises.Again,this isexpressedwithrespecttothelimitsoftheclaimedjurisdictionoftheorganisation.There arenonecessarylimitstothemembershipofaunionandallemployeescouldbesimilarly organised.InCanadatheOneBigUnionwasthemostsignificantattemptthiscenturyto 35

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation constructsuchanallianceofworkingpeople.Thepointhereisthatthelargerthescopeof the organisation, or its anticipated jurisdiction, the wider the recognition of common interests. Despite this element of commonality, the development of industrial unions, embracing many occupations and employment situations, there is a need to recognize sectionalends.Aunionwithsuchanenlargedmembershipwillnormallydeviseastructure whichwillpermitinstitutionalexpressionofsectionalinterests.However,thesewillbe limitedbythedefinitionofcommoninterestsandconflictwillresultwhenthetwosetscome intocontradiction.InTheCanadiancivilservicepriortothecreationofthePublicService AllianceofCanada,twotypesoforganizationscompetedformembership.Oneofthese endorsed the principle of an amalgamated union in which all occupations would be integratedintoacommonstructure.Thealternativeorganizationendorsedafederation approachofseparatestructuredassociationsbasedondepartmentaloccupationaldivisions. Underthefederationprinciplethecentraldirectingbodytherepresentativesofthebroader interestsofthewholeandresponsibleforbalancingthesectionalinterestshadlesspower andeachseparategroupingretainedconsiderableautonomy.Bothprinciplesrecognizedthe existence of common interests, hence the perceived need for a larger alliance. But the federationapproachallowedforawiderexpressionofsectionalinterests.Althoughthe optimalsizeofanorganizationislimitedbyperceptionsofcommoninterests,arelatively more autonomous structure permits a wider definition of jurisdiction, or scope of membershipsituations. Ifpressuresofcompetitionmay,insomecircumstances,dictateanexclusivepolicy with regard to scope of membership, there are also some advantages to an expanded jurisdiction.Centralisationpermitsmoreresourcesforthecommonuseofallunitsand permits more strength in bargaining, for example, by reducing the interprovincial differentialforgivenoccupations.Sincesuchaunionisinapotentialpositionofgreater financialstrength,theremaybeperceivedanunfortunatetradeoff:strengthversussectional interests.Thosewithmoreindependentbargainingstrength,orwiththemostdeveloped sectionalinterests,willbelesslikelytochooseanorganisationwithabroadscope,whereas thoseinrelativelyweakpositionsmaypreferalargerunionforitspotentialpower.Not surprisingly,whenthePublicServicealliancewasformedinthefederalcivilservice,the professionals,whofearedthattheirspecialneedsandinterestswouldnotbemetinthelarger structure,decidedtoremainseparate. (ii)NameoftheOrganisation Asthediscussionofenterpriseunionismargued,varioussanctionswouldberegarded aslegitimatedependingontheconceptionofthenatureoftheorganisationthetwobeing intricatelytiedtogether.Withinthetermsofcollectivebargaining,adistinctioncanbedrawn 36

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation betweenanassociationandaunion.Inpractice,littledefinitecontentcanbeassignedthe former, although there is a tendency to avoid the strike, and various activities may be characterisedasappropriateonlyforaunion. Alongwiththisconceptionoftheappropriatestanceoftheorganisationvisvis managementandtheenterpriseasawhole,wouldcorresponddifferentnamesconnotinga moreorlessunionateposition.Forexample,inthefederalcivilservicethemilitantpostal workers changed the title of their organisation to union from association when they reorganisedintheearly1960stoseekcollectivebargainingandtherighttostrike.Withinthe broadPublicServiceAlliance,awiderangeofnamesandsemiautonomousbodiescontinue toexist.Theprofessionals,followingthepracticeinEngland,namedtheirorganisationan Institute. Thename,then,maysymbolisetheorientationoftheorganisationtothetenantsof tradeunionism.Oritmayexpresstheclaimedjurisdictionoftheorganisation.Theinitial namingoftheassociationmayreflectitspositionvisvistradeunionismquiteconsciously. Furtherchangesinjurisdictionmaybeindicatedbyanevolutionofthename,forexample, fromcivilservantstogovernmentemployeestopublicemployees.Nevertheless,the typologyofthenamedoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheevolutionofcharacter.Whileadecision tochangethistypologyisimportantisthesensethatitindicatestheselfcharacterisationof theorganisationandpotentiallyindicatestheconsciousnessofthemembership,theabsence ofaformalchangedoesnotindicatetheabsenceofanevolutionaryprocessalteringthe characteroftheorganisation.Similarly,internaldebatesontheappropriatenamemaybe significant indicators of this evolution or only of the relative strength of various forces internaltotheunion.Historically,thenatureandtimingofthesedebatesaresymbolicof othertendenciestowardsorawayfromtradeunionism. Becauseofthecomplicatedquestionofwhatisinvolvedindeterminingatypology, thequestionofthenamemaybesubjecttowidevariations.Thedesiretochangethename fromassociationtounionmaybeindicativeofamoreunionateconsciousness,butthe decisiontoleaveitunchangedneednotimplytheoppositeconclusionsincethereareoften pragmaticreasonsfordoingso(Blackburn,1967). Thequestionofthenameofanorganisationhasimplicationsforbothenterpriseand society unionateness. The choice of atypology ispartly areflectionof the status of the labour management relationship within the enterprise and the experiences at the microlevel.TheabandonmentofaLabourManagementcommitteeforcollectivebargaining might occasion a name change. Butboththe newform desiredand anypossible name changewhichcouldsymbolisethenewperceptionoftheemploymentrelationship,have referencetowiderspheresofinfluenceandideology,includingsocietywidefactors.While therelationshipremainslocal,thesymbolconnotesaclassofsimilarbodiesandindicatesa 37

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation specificimage.Tradeunionismimpliesarelativelypermanentconflictofinterestsandthose whoaspiretotoppositionsmaybemorecomfortable,whilepursuingcollectivebargaining aimsintheshortrun,tobelongtolessperpetuallyantagonisticbodies. (iii)TradeUnionAct Whetheranorganisationcomesundertheprovisionsofthetradeunionactissimilarly a question of both microand macrolevel unionism. Labourmanagement committees, existinginnumerousNorthAmericanenterprises,operateexternaltotheprovisionsofthe tradeUnionActwhichisthelegislationwhichformalisestheprocessofcollectivebargaining formostprivatesectoremployees. Certaingroupsofworkersparticularlypublicemployees,butalsosmallproducers havefrequentlybeendeniedtherighttocomeundertheprovisionsoftheTradeUnionAct. Wherethisisthecase,ademandforcollectivebargainingcouldbemetinoneoftwoways. Eitherthegovernmentcouldremovetherestrictions,oritcouldenactspeciallegislation.The differencesbetweenthetradeUnionActandsuchaCollectiveBargainingActconcernssuch issuesasadefinedjurisdiction,arangeofexclusions,andalimitationonlegalsanctions.A commonprovisionistomakestrikeactionillegalandsubstitutecompulsoryarbitration. Theactwhichisapplicabletoagivengroupofemployeesregulatestherelationship with management at the local level. A desire to come under the Trade Union Act is connectedwithmanagementatthelocallevel.AdesiretocomeundertheTradeUnionAct isconnectedwiththismicrolevelbargainingandreflectsanewconceptionofthebestmeans tosecureenterprisespecificends.Torejectthetradeunionact,then,doesnotimplya rejection of the principle of collective bargaining. While less common, it also does not necessarilymeanabandonmentoftherighttostrike,sincesuchaclausemaybeprovidedin speciallegislation(althoughwherethisisthecase,itishamstrungbyalistofdesignated employees)whichlimitsitseffectiveness. Inaddition,however,theTradeUnionActregulatestheemploymentpracticesofthe greatmajorityofemployeesandthedesiretocomeundertheactmayexpressadegreeof identificationwiththelargerunionmovementandthemanualworkingclass,forwhomthe actwasoriginallyintended.Itmeansgivinguptheclaimtospecialstatusandprovidesan indicationofsocietyunionateness. (iv)AffiliationtotheCentralLabourBody Lockwood(1958)distinguishedbetweenaninstrumentalandanideologicalreasonfor joiningacentrallabourbody.Theformerconcernedthoseaspectsoftradeunionismwhich arecommontoallsuchorganisationssuchasgeneralrightsforallworkersandthelegal framework of the collective bargaining process. The latter referred more directly to identificationwithmanualworkers.Formanypublicemployees,wholackmanytradeunion rights,joiningacentrallabourbodycreatesanalliancewithapowerfulgroupofemployees 38

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation inordertoreceivetheirsupportinsecuringtheserightssharedbyotherworkers.Themost pertinentexampleinCanadaistherighttostrikeandthetradeUnionAct.However,the labourmovementnormallydefinesitsconcernsmorewidelythantheseemploymentspecific concerns.Nativerights,Quebecsrighttoselfdetermination,regionaldisparity,andmany othernationalinterestsareadvocatedbytheCanadianLabourcongressandtheCongress supportedtherighttostrikeforpublicworkersbeforesuchlegislationwasprovidedinthe country. Ideologically, then, joining the C.L.C. implies a host of economic and political positionswhichmanymembersmaynotbepreparedtocondone. Themicrolevelconsiderationconcernsthequestionofbenefitsreceivedasopposedto thecostsofaffiliation.Duesarededucteddirectlyfromapaychequewhilesupporttoobtain tradeunionrightsormutualidentificationwiththewidergoalsofthelabourmovementis moreabstractandnebulous.Thedebateforandagainstaffiliationiscouched,onbothsides, oninstrumentalandideologicalgrounds,anddelegatestoconventionscanbepersuadedto acceptC.L.C.membershipdespitemembershipdirectionstorejectaffiliationonideological grounds. Ingeneral,theacceptanceofmembershipinthewidertradeunionmovementisnot purelyinstrumentalandorganisationsmustcometotermswiththebroaderviewtaken.Itis, defacto,recognitionofcommonobjectives.Itshouldbenoted,however,thattheexistenceof asinglecentrallabourbodyisnotcommontoallsocieties.InsomeWesternnations,notably WestGermanyandSweden,thereareseparatelabourcentralsformanualandnonmanual workers.Thisissignificantforthequestionoftheclassconsciousnessofmembersandtrade unionismasanindicationofthisconsciousness,sinceitprovidestwoclearlydefinedclass poles. In Canada the question is to join or not join the Labour Congress. Nonmanual workerswhofeeltheneedforawiderallianceandcollectiveactiondonothavetheoptionof confining the scope of their affiliationsolelytoorganisationsrepresentingemployees in similarhorizontalclassificationsbutmustcontemplateanalliancewithmanualworkers. (v)AffiliationwithaLabourParty The last ideological/instrumental response in Blackburns model of society unionatenessisforemployeestoexpresstheirgeneralcollectiveinterestsinthewidersocial contextthroughapoliticalpartyormovement.Inmanycountries,suchasBritain,thereisan organisationalandideologicallinkbetweenthecentrallabourbodyandalabourparty,the latterrepresentingthemoregeneralinterestsoftheworkingclass.InCanadasuchapartyis theNewDemocraticParty.Thereare,however,difficultiesinusingsupportforthispartyas anindicationofclassconsciousness.Inthefirstplacethesupposedlinkbetweentheinterests oftheunionists,orwageandsalarygroupingsingeneral,andthepoliciesofthepolitical party,maybewide.Thepointofdepartureofapoliticalpartyissocietyasawholerather thanonlythepointofviewoforganisedworkers.Theremaybeadiscrepancybetweenthe 39

WhiteCollarCollectiveOrganisation shorttermperceptionsofemployeesinterestsandthepoliciespursuedbythelabourparty. Second,inprinciple,highclassconsciousnessmaybeindicatedbytherejectionofthe labour party as not sufficiently committed to the interests of workers. In Canada, furthermore, there is a weak (although positive) correlation between class and voting patterns, a connection which reflects the complications of the political party system. However, this connection is strongest for the New Democratic Party. It was partly the creation of the Canadian Labour Congress and receives unqualified support from the Nationallabourbody,althoughithasnotyetbeenabletoinfluencethevotingofamajority oftradeunionists.Insomeprovinces,thelabourcentral(ProvincialFederationsofLabour) havewithdrawntheirsupportformtheN.D.P.afteritstermsinoffice.However,theorigins ofthepartyandthedegreeofpositivecorrelationwiththeworkingclassvote,justifiesits inclusioninasocietyunionatenessscale.

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