Working union - management relations

This book is a new evaluation of the state of affairs in the study of relations between companies and unions. Written from a sociological standpoint, it seeks to place old facts in a new interpretative framework. Special emphasis is given to the application of organization theory. Particu lar attention is directed at decision making in companies and unions as decisions are oriented towards their relationship. Union-management rela tions are viewed as a continual decision process. One of the features of the book is analysis of industrial relations in the larger context of the society.

This volume is intended to supplement other systematic treatments of the subject. Most serious students of the field have their intellectual roots in economics, and their studies have been the backbone of knowledge about union-management relations. A sociological approach now seems an appropriate addition to the more traditional analyses. It is already clear that many labor economists have themselves perceived the need for moving in this direction.

This study is a companion volume to The World of Work. The two books supplement each other and share a common framework. They treat distinctive aspects of the exceedingly complex life of modern industrial man.