ADOLESCENT VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION AND PRECOCIOUS UNION FORMATION*

This article bridges scholarship in criminology and family sociology by extending arguments about “precocious exits” from adolescence to consider early union formation as a salient outcome of violent victimization for youths. Research indicates that early union formation is associated with several negative outcomes; yet the absence of attention to union formation as a consequence of violent victimization is noteworthy. We address this gap by drawing on life course theory and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of violent victimization (“street” violence) on the timing of first coresidential union formation—differentiating between marriage and cohabitation—in young adulthood. Estimates from Cox proportional hazard models show that adolescent victims of street violence experience higher rates of first union formation, especially marriage, early in the transition to adulthood; however, this effect declines with age, as such unions become more normative. Importantly, the effect of violent victimization on first union timing is robust to controls for nonviolent delinquency, substance abuse, and violent perpetration. We conclude by discussing directions for future research on the association between violent victimization and coresidential unions with an eye toward the implications of such early union formation for desistance.     

The summer of union discontent portends a season of employer discomfort

The recent splintering of the unions of the Change to Win Coalition from the AFL-CIO has received a great deal of attention in the media. Few have watched these developments with greater interest than employers in a broad variety of employment settings. As union prospects in the manufacturing industries have dwindled, employers in the service industries such as healthcare have become especially sensitive to changes in the labor movement and the opportunities to organize. This Article explores the philosophical differences responsible for the AFL-CIO schism, the likely effect this division will have on union organizing efforts in the healthcare industry, and the negative consequences these organizing efforts could have on employee free choice within the industry. In addition, this Article outlines some of the steps healthcare employers can take to protect their ability to communicate freely and directly with their employees.     

The influence of collective bargaining on large police agency salaries: 1990–2000

Collective bargaining between police management and unions is an important process that determines many aspects of police work, particularly the monetary benefits for line officers like salary and fringe benefits. Working with limited budgets, police administrators who engage in collective bargaining are obligated to negotiate with union representatives over wage benefits while attempting to maintain adequate financial resources toward other police operations. Though students of policing learn that police unions try very hard to increase economic reward for their members there is limited research on the effectiveness of their efforts. Since economic benefits are the primary focus of police unions, it is important; therefore, to evaluate the impact that collective bargaining has on salaries earned by police personnel. This study examines this issue by combining four waves of the Law Enforcement Management and Administration Statistics for the period 1990–2000. Pooled time series analyses reveal that large organizations that engaged in collective bargaining had higher minimum wages for officers during the period. As predicted, collective bargaining did not affect minimum chief’s salaries.     

The case of the two-percent assessment and the question of union susceptibility

In 1934, the Chicago Mafia, or Outfit, arranged to have a mob associate, George Browne, elected as the national president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE). Subsequently Outfit leaders used Browne to perpetrate a massive embezzlement scheme from this union. For 18 months IATSE members paid a two-percent assessment from their wages into a special fund. That money was later siphoned out in the form of cash payments that went mainly to Browne, a co-conspirator, and the Outfit. The amount taken would be equivalent to about twenty million dollars today. The episode previewed the schemes that organized crime groups later used to mulct union benefit funds from the Teamsters and other labor organizations in the post-World War II era. Such schemes depended upon the wide scale complacency of the leadership within the affected national unions. This article uses the history of IATSE’s two-percent assessment to analyze the reasons behind that complacency. In this way it addresses the question of why unions might be more susceptible to organized crime manipulation than other institutions.     

A Revised Role for Trade Unions as Designed by New Labour: The Representation Pyramid and 'Partnership'

A key objective of British unions is to develop their representative role so as to establish their relevance to the workforce and thereby reverse the overall decline in trade union membership. To many, the legislative reforms undertaken by New Labour since 1999 offer some hope that this can be achieved. These reforms seem to provide a pyramid of representation, whereby trade unions can establish their relevance when they 'accompany' individual employees in grievance and disciplinary proceedings, and when they act as recipients of information and consultation. By attracting members in this fashion, there would seem to be the promise that unions can reascend to the position of recognized and effective parties in collective bargaining. However, this paper suggests that a barrier to the achievement of this objective is the particular conception of 'partnership' adopted by New Labour, which deviates from that of the TUC. This 'partnership' is essentially individualistic in character, procedural in form, and unitary in specification. These characteristics are reflected in the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and are therefore likely to inhibit the progression of a trade union to recognition in collective bargaining.     

Alternative Models of Policy Compliance by Unions With Civil Rights Legislation

The author looks at the process of compliance which local unions follow in response to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, analyzing local unions as organizations. Three models of compliance are presented: the voluntary model in which compliance is initiated and sustained through a voluntary and local process, the bureaucratic model in which compliance is initiated through the international union's program and sustained through the mechanisms of the bureaucracy of the international union, and the legal model in which the local union complies as a direct result of a change in the law. The results are that none of these models fit exactly. The greatest amount of compliant activity occurs when the process is quasi-bureaucratic, that is, when it begins as a voluntary process, but relies on bureaucratic mechanisms for completion. The author finds two other factors which are associated in a strong and positive way with the amount of local union compliance: a great objective need for change and a great amount of controversy. The study is based on in-depth interviews with forty-seven local union leaders and on twenty interviews with international union leaders in eleven local unions.     

Critical Spaces in the Canadian Refugee Determination System: 1989-2002

This paper draws its conclusions from a multidisciplinary studyof the refugee determination process in Canada, the aim of whichwas to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the system andto explore means of improving it through an in-depth analysisof the diversity of attitudes and perceptions of different actorsinvolved in the process. The basic hypothesis is that the legitimacyof the action of the Immigration and Refugee Board (hereafterIRB) is challenged because of a series of disagreements on theway it operates. Using interviews with former Board members,as well as with other professional actors of the system (lawyers,NGO workers, interpreters, health professionals), we try tounderstand better the parameters of the problems facing theIRB on three sets of issues: the appointment and renewal ofBoard members; the relationships between Board members withinthe IRB; the evaluation of the evidence by Board members. Allissues relate mainly to the principles of independence and impartialityof the IRB, as an expert administrative tribunal. In particular,using the idea of ‘critical space’ as a conceptualframework, this study tries to ascertain more precisely howcritical spaces within the IRB were being used in order to fostera common culture of independence and impartiality within theinstitution, or not. This study covers the period 1989-2002:it signals reforms accomplished since and suggests more meansfor improvement.     

Reversed Solidarity in Pension Plans

There is a unexpected phenomenon in the majority of complementary pension plans in the Netherlands. Unlike other arrangements that are the result of collective bargaining and decision making, these pension plans increase the inequality in the distribution of (lifetime) income. In those plans, persons without a career contribute to the payment of pension provisions of those with a career. Generally speaking, this implies that blue-collar workers and women pay for the pensions of white-collar workers, who are mostly men. For some of the contracting parties, the terms of the pension contract seem to be disadvantageous and suboptimal. The question arises as to why these contracts are being concluded and how they can survive in a competitive environment. Moreover, since the pension plans are the result of collective bargaining between the organisation of employers and the labour unions, the question arises as to how reversed solidarity fits the alleged redistributive goal of the labour unions. The analysis leads to the following conclusions. Firstly, that information and transaction cost, collective agreements, legal barriers and market failures on substitute arrangements prevent the conclusion of optimal contracts. Secondly, employers would find the pension plan attractive because it discourages shirking, enhances productivity and the process of job matching and reduces labour turnover. Thirdly, a pension plan based on final salary is in the interest of the median voter in the labour union, who is older and earns a higher seniority wage than junior workers. Furthermore, in the given circumstances the pension plan enlarges union membership and the dues income of the union and endows the union leadership with more prestige and influence. Individual union members would not oppose such a pension plan for reasons of informational asymmetry, transaction cost and the inability to capture the full benefits of their actions.A comparison of the pension schemes of Belgium, Germany, France and the UK shows that there are large differences in the structure and content of retirement provisions. Reversed solidarity may also be part of the pension plans in Belgium and the UK.     

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE RISK AMONG VICTIMS OF YOUTH VIOLENCE: ARE EARLY UNIONS BAD,BENEFICIAL, OR BENIGN?

Youth violent victimization (YVV) is a risk factor for precocious exits from adolescence via early coresidential union formation. It remains unclear, however, whether these early unions 1) are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, 2) interrupt victim continuity or victim–offender overlap through protective and prosocial bonds, or 3) are inconsequential. By using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 11,928; 18–34 years of age), we examine competing hypotheses for the effect of early union timing among victims of youth violence (n = 2,479)—differentiating across victimization only, perpetration only, and mutually combative relationships and considering variation by gender. The results from multinomial logistic regression models indicate that YVV increases the risk of IPV victimization in first unions, regardless of union timing; the null effect of timing indicates that delaying union formation would not reduce youth victims’ increased risk of continued victimization. Gender‐stratified analyses reveal that earlier unions can protect women against IPV perpetration, but this is partly the result of an increased risk of IPV victimization. The findings suggest that YVV has significant transformative consequences, leading to subsequent victimization by coresidential partners, and this association might be exacerbated among female victims who form early unions. We conclude by discussing directions for future research.     

Union organizing drives dealt a blow by Supreme Court

The Lechmere case is important because it reaffirms that employers' property rights take precedence over the rights of nonemployees to engage in union organizing on employers' property. This is particularly important for hospitals and health care institutions because of their heightened exposure to union organizing activity after American Hospital Association v. National Labor Relations Board, discussed above. Providers should, however, remember two points. First, the principal focus of Lechmere was on union organizing by nonemployees; nothing in Lechmere limited the basic right of employees to form and join labor unions as guaranteed by Section 7 of the NLRA. Additionally, Lechmere notwithstanding, providers must be careful not to discriminate in their approach to union organizing activities--even by nonemployees. Thus, if a provider allows nonemployee groups other than unions to enter upon its property for purposes of soliciting employees and/or distributing literature, any attempt to bar nonemployee union organizers from the property would probably be deemed discriminatory and could indeed be an unfair labor practice. (In Lechmere, the employer consistently enforced a ban against all such nonemployee groups.)     

Together despite the odds: Explaining racial and ethnic heterogeneity in union dissolution after incarceration

The U.S. incarceration rate rose dramatically over the past 45 years, increasing the number of marriages and cohabiting unions disrupted by a jail or prison stay. But as some have pointed out, not all unions dissolve as a result of incarceration, and there seems to be racial–ethnic variation in this tendency, with Blacks displaying higher rates of dissolution than Whites and Hispanics. Yet it is unclear what explains racial–ethnic differences in union dissolution among the incarcerated. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), we examine why racial–ethnic differences in union dissolution exist among a sample of individuals who had a marital or a cohabiting union interrupted by an incarceration spell. In doing so, we draw on social exchange theory and structural and cultural theories to suggest that racial–ethnic disparities in union dissolution are explained by differential exposure to protective relationship characteristics. The results of Cox hazard models reveal that Blacks have significantly higher hazards of union dissolution than do Whites and Hispanics. These results also indicate that being married, having a child together, having full-time employment, a longer union duration, and a shorter incarceration spell may protect against dissolution and that these factors account, in part, for the greater risk of dissolution among Blacks relative to Whites and Hispanics.     

Policing the industrial reserve army: An international study

Over the past three decades, the industrialized world has witnessed four resilient social trends: (1) the consistent erosion of union-membership; (2) an increase in income polarization and inequality; (3) a dramatic resurgence in popular protest; and (4) a steady rise in public and private policing employment. In this paper, we examine the relationship between these trends by theorizing and operationalizing the notion of the “industrial reserve army” and a series of related tenets in order to conduct an international (N = 45), empirical test of a nascent Marxian model of policing. By treating total policing employment as an empirical barometer of bourgeois insecurity we find that this insecurity is conditioned by two elements of Marxian political economy: (1) relative deprivation (income inequality) and (2) the rise of an industrial reserve army (manufacturing employment and unemployment). Second, while surplus value and labour militancy (strikes and lockouts per 100,000 population) rise along with union membership, the presence of higher rates of unionization appears to ameliorate the need for more policing in all but post-USSR countries. While unions assist in checking the immiseration of workers through labour actions, union membership is nonetheless inversely correlated to policing employment, giving credence to the Marxian idea that while unions help mitigate against the exploitation workers, they also act as “lieutenants of capital,” performing an essential policing function under capitalism.     

The Implications of the ASLEF Case

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights in ASLEFv United Kingdom (27 February 2007) will require the governmentto re-visit the law relating to the right of trade unions toexclude and expel individuals because of their membership ofpolitical organisations perceived by trade unions to be hostileto their interests. It is now clear—as was pointed outat the time—that the changes made by the Employment RelationsAct 2004 do not go far enough to meet obligations under theEuropean Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, the casealso raises much wider questions about the compatibility ofother statutory restraints on trade union autonomy with Article11 of the ECHR, notably ss 64–67 (on unjustifiable discipline)and 174–177 (on exclusion and expulsion as a whole, andnot only the measures relating to membership of hostile politicalparties). This article considers both the immediate and thewider implications of the ASLEF decision for British trade unionlaw, in the context of what appears to be a greater willingnessof the Strasbourg Court to listen more carefully to trade uniongrievances than in the past. The article also draws attentionto the role of litigation as a trade union strategy to recoverlost rights, and again emphasises the importance of InternationalLabour Organisation Convention 87 and the Council of Europe'sSocial Charter of 1961 (as well as the jurisprudence thereunder)as important sources in the construction of the ECHR, Article11.     

Systematic construction of lawfulness of processing employees’ personal information under China's personal information protection law

With the rapid development and widespread use of digital technologies in the workplace in China, employers’ right to monitor and direct employees has often been abused, raising a number of disputes over the infringement of employees’ right to privacy in terms of their personal information. China must urgently develop an appropriate approach to balancing these two conflicting interests. However, there is currently no coherent and uniform regime governing the protection of employees’ personal information in China. The primary legal source on which employers can rely is the latest version of the Chinese Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which offers three lawful bases for employers’ processing of their employees’ personal information. These bases are employee consent; “necessity for the conclusion or performance of an employment contract”; and “necessity for conducting human resource management.” Concerns have been expressed regarding the reasonableness and effectiveness of the three lawful bases under the PIPL. First, it is both legally and practically problematic for the PIPL to rely so heavily on employee consent. Second, it is unclear whether the other two lawful bases relieve employers of the duty of notification and, if so, how to safeguard employees’ right to know. Third, the ambiguous standard of “necessity” requires clarification.This article argues that China should adopt many elements from EU law, while US law should be only followed in relation to the standard of “necessity”. In relation to employee consent, the EU approach is preferable to the US approach. As the EU approach does not generally regard employees’ consent as a lawful basis for the processing of their information and uses the other two lawful bases as alternatives to employee consent, this approach better reflects the customary practices of employee subordination and employer control in China. In contrast, US law deems employee consent to be an absolute general defense to the tort of privacy violation and adopts an employer favoritism approach to balancing these two conflicting interests, which is not appropriate in the Chinese context. In relation to the scope of necessity, three tests taken from the EU and US approaches should be considered by the Chinese courts. In addition, when processing personal information based on the other two lawful bases, employers should safeguard employees’ right to know through collective contracts concluded with labor unions or employee representatives under the Chinese Labor Contract Law, which would effectively address employers’ arbitrariness. Ultimately, these changes would produce a better balance between employees’ right to privacy in terms of their personal information and employers’ need to subordinate and control employees.     

A proposal for a nonreinstatement rule in unfair labor practice cases involving patient abuse

Nursing home discharges of employees based on patient abuse raise a difficult issue when the motivating factor for the disciplinary action is union activism. A tension is created between the rights of employees to engage in protected concerted activity and the rights of patients to quality care. In 1974, Congress passed the Health Care Institutions Amendments, which granted to non-profit health care workers collective organizing and bargaining rights substantially similar to those which workers in other industries had enjoyed for decades under the National Labor Relations Act. Congress intended to give health care workers only that degree of parity, however, which is compatible with the provision of high quality patient care. The agency charged with enforcing the Act, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has failed to distinguish employee misconduct in industrial settings from patient abuse in health care institutions when fashioning remedies for discriminatorily discharged union activists. The NLRB typically has ordered the reinstatement, with back pay, of the patient abuser as the patient's primary care-giver. This Article suggests that a front pay remedy is more appropriate to these cases because it protects the patient's right to be free from abuse without sacrificing employee unionization rights.     

Legal Recognition of Plural Unions: Is A Nonmarital Relationship Status the Answer to the Dilemma?

Intimate relationships involving three or more adults are increasingly visible in American society. Multiparty relationships, which are also known as plural unions, mainly take two different forms: systemic polygyny and polyamory. Family law currently denies recognition to all plural unions. Granting legal recognition to multiparty relationships would advance the goal of family pluralism and expand access to valuable legal protections. However, the possibility of granting official recognition to plural unions must be approached with caution, because systemic polygyny poses a serious risk of harm to women and children arising from the imposition of oppressive gender roles. A possible solution to this dilemma lies in offering a formal nonmarital status (such as civil union, domestic partnership, reciprocal beneficiary, or designated beneficiary) to participants in plural unions. As a result of their differing attitudes toward marriage, polyamorists would be likely to embrace a nonmarital relationship status, while participants in systemic polygyny would most likely reject it. Thus, providing a nonmarital status for plural unions could allow polyamorists to obtain the benefits of relationship recognition, without placing the government's seal of approval on the oppressive aspects of systemic polygyny.     

Will physician unions improve health system performance?

In the public debate over the extension of collective bargaining rights to independent physicians, union proponents' primary argument has been that patients would benefit from allowing physicians to bargain collectively with health plans. This article examines the likely effects of physician unions on the U.S. health care system. Specifically considered are likely effects on economic efficiency, quality, access, and cost. Under none of these criteria are physician unions likely to improve health system performance, particularly when compared with available alternative strategies for dealing with problems identified by union proponents.     

Organisational restructuring/downsizing, OHS regulation and worker health and wellbeing

A growing body of international evidence indicates that downsizing and related forms of organisational restructuring are having profound adverse effects on worker safety, health and wellbeing. In particular, evidence links downsizing to poorer mental health outcomes, including bullying and other forms of occupational violence. In Australia federal, state and territory occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation imposes obligations on employers who make changes to the workplace or work processes to identify hazards, undertake risk assessment, consult with employee representatives and take appropriate steps to manage any significant hazards that are identified, including psychosocial hazards. This study shows that while Australian regulators are aware of the problems posed by downsizing they have made only modest efforts to pursue compliance with legislative duties, producing some guidance material that refers to restructuring and workloads and launching a small number of prosecutions. At the same time, there is an increased willingness to address staffing levels and other impacts of downsizing (like working in isolation). Employer and union responses were also examined. The article concludes by identifying a number of initiatives that would enable regulators, unions and employers to address the problems posed by downsizing more effectively.     

UNIONIZATlON BEHIND THE WALLS

Inmate militancy has evolved from rioting to nonviolent forms of protest and, more recently, to union organizing activities. Prisoners' unions have been opposed by state officials. and a number of tactics have been employed to weaken them Although no constitutional or statutory provisions deal specifically with the right of prisoners to unionize, that right probably depends upon the union's ability to demonstrate that it does not threaten institutional security and would not significantly alter the existing power structure. Prisoners' unions could represent a more participatory and open form of bargaining than currently exists in prisons     

论《劳动合同法》对当前我国高校工会职能的机遇与挑战

新的<中华人民共和国劳动合同法>的颁布实施,引发了现阶段我国高校工会职能的嬗变,使得高校工会在民主法治建设、维护权益建设、和谐劳动关系建设以及和谐校园建设等方面的职能更加凸显.这同时也给高校工会工作带来难得的机遇和挑战.通过建构和谐稳定的劳动关系来构建和谐校园,高校工会工作面临强化问题意识、强化创新意识、强化维权意识和强化服务意识等主要任务.