This revised edition provides an introduction to British trade unionism and key debates about its role in politics in the 1990s. It explores the political background to union activities, the industrial relations scene, the arguments for and against controversial aspects of union practice and the state of the unions in the face of the sustained challenge of the Conservative years.

British Trade Unions Today is concerned with the trade union movement in Britain, how it operates, and how it strives constantly to achieve its objectives. This text examines why the British people hold trade union membership cards, why they do it, how they do it, what they expect from their unions, and how the trade union movement affects the citizens of Britain. This book consists of nine chapters and begins by discussing the history of trade unions in Britain, with emphasis on how various forms of organization came about and how they are now. The next chapter focuses on the legal battles faced by British unions to fight for their right of formal existence and compares the legal framework for industrial relations in the United Kingdom with that in the United States. The reader is then introduced to the societal goals of trade unions and what they have achieved so far, particularly with respect to improving wages and employment conditions. The chapters that follow consider the rationale for the unions' establishment of a national center, the election and selection of union officers, and union communications and publicity. This book also examines how trade unions conduct collective bargaining, along with their finances, and concludes by assessing the future of the unions in the context of the social environment in which they operate. This reference material will be useful to trade union leaders and members as well as companies and policymakers who deal with unions.

This is an introduction to the politics of trade unionism in contemporary Britain, assessing the major changes in legislation, policing and attitudes since 1979 as well as the broader social and economic trends to which these have been a response.

This revised edition provides an introduction to British trade unionism and key debates about its role in politics in the 1990s. It explores the political background to union activities, the industrial relations scene, the arguments for and against controversial aspects of union practice and the state of the unions in the face of the sustained challenge of the Conservative years.

17 The National Free Labour Association: Working-Class Opposition to New Unionism in Britain by Geoffrey Alderman -- Part Five Trade Unions, Employers and the State -- 18 The British State, the Business Community and the Trade Unions by John Saville -- 19 Industrial Structure, Employer Strategy and the Diffusion of Job Control in Britain, 1880-1920 by Jonathan Zeitlin -- 20 Repression or Integration? The State, Trade Unions and Industrial Disputes in Imperial Germany by Klaus Saul -- Part Six Trade Unions and the Political Labour Movement -- 21 Trade Unions and the Labour Party in Britain by Jay M. Winter -- 22 The Free Trade Unions and Social Democracy in Imperial Germany by Hans Mommsen -- Notes on Contributors -- Index.

British Trade Unions Today examines why a large percentage of the British population belongs to a trade union, how they do it, what they expect from their unions, and how the trade union movement affects their fellow citizens. The authors are full time trade union officials and this account derives from their personal experience and close observation. Both have been involved in the basic organization of workers, in efforts to improve working conditions, in collective bargaining; and both have participated as elected delegates in the major conferences of the trade union movement where national policy is decided.