Gary N. Chaison addresses questions implicit in the decline of unions in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.

The past fifteen years have been difficult for the labor movements in industrial countries. Gary N. Chaison addresses questions implicit in the decline of unions in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand: How and why do labor unions merge under pressure? What role do mergers play in the unions' strategies to deal with membership losses, management opposition, and hostile governments? Are there distinctive national profiles of union mergers? Chaison begins by describing the dynamics of the union merger process as large unions combine with each other in amalgamations, as small unions are absorbed into larger ones, and as local unions affiliate into nationals. He discusses the reasons for mergers, the barriers to consolidation, and the problems of integration which may result. The five chapters that follow are arranged in order of increasing intensity in merger activity, ranging from the United States, where interest in mergers is growing, to New Zealand, where changing legislation has catalyzed an enormous wave of mergers. For each of the five countries considered, Chaison characterizes the industrial relations climate and merger record since 1980, explains landmark mergers, identifies the antecedents, and assesses the chances that a sudden flood of mergers will occur. The final chapter compares the national profiles, extrapolating the significant differences and common threads. Chaison concludes that while mergers can play a critical role in revitalizing labor movements and building the dominant unions of the future, they are not necessarily solving the fundamental economic and political problems that plague unions.

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This Brief examines the way that labor unions have been able to use mergers to survive the trend of sharply declining size and bargaining power. Using the metaphor of a ship adrift in a stormy sea, the author addresses the often-asked questions of why unions merge, how unions merge, and what unions can accomplish by merging. The first chapter sets the stage for union mergers by presenting the dilemma of American unions. The second chapter describes the motivation to merge by linking it to union decline. The third chapter deals with the barriers to merger, primarily major differences in union governance and opposition from officers, members and union staff. The fourth chapter examines the specific process by which unions amalgamate and absorb, the dynamics of merger overtures and negotiations, and the themes and variations of merger agreements and merger implementation agreements. The fifth chapter examines merger outcomes and the degree to which mergers are only a partial solution and often cannot resolve the problems that prompted them. The sixth and final chapter summarizes the present and future role that mergers might play in stabilizing and strengthening a labor movement adrift in a sea of turmoil. This Brief will be of interest to scholars of industrial relations, labor economics, and management.​