Shop Steward Resistance in the Recession.

This article attempts to refute the popular assertion that the recession in 1985 has weakened workplace trade union organization in Great Britain, to the extent that it is largely irrelevant or marginal to managerial concerns. The article will illustrate a type of factory-based organization which can not only survive in the present climate but can also successfully resist management attacks. In this paper, it will be argued that even though management and employers influence the development of shop steward organizations, these organizations can nevertheless attempts to weaken their power and influence. Particular attention will be paid to key elements of such steward organizations so as to rectify what has been identified as the relative neglect within trade union and labor circles of organizational forms for shop stewards. The case study presented will demonstrate that a workplace trade union organization with a proven record of achievement at plant and company, an active and involved membership and a stable and strong leadership and external relations, is still able to fight off management attacks. This case study will indicate how unions can continue to pose a significant threat causing corporate management to be constrained in their decision making.