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The purpose of this paper is to assess difficulties facing the unionization of foreign workers focusing on the experience of trade unionists in Union MIE, an exemplar of what in Japan is known as a community union (sometimes described as a form of Minority union – Stewart, 2006). Union MIE is characterized by its orientation to the social and political agenda of Latin American workers, among whom Brazilians form the most numerous group. The paper also addresses the precarious nature of workers’ employment including the condition of labor. The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions.

The paper explores unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan.

The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. In addition to having relevance to the wider discussion on union decline, this paper contributes to the debate on migrant workers, their condition of labor and one form of labor organization responsive to their concerns.

A comparative approach would add even more to the weight of evidence accrued in the paper.

Mainstream trade unions need to anticipate that the concerns of migrant and precarious workers will become increasingly common among their erstwhile “regularly” employed membership and so the activities of community and minority unions need to be taken on board in an organic, as opposed to an opportunistic, manner.

From unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan, the paper presents original data not typically accessible in Anglo-Saxon research tradition.

The article aims to report on research into managerial practices at the workplace level in Britain and Italy in the automobile and aerospace industries. These are examined with regard to their impact on employees' perceptions of skill, training and their relationship to participation. Are advocates of high performance work (HPW) accurate in arguing that it can satisfy aspirations for greater employee influence in contrast to lean working?

The methodology included questionnaires and interviews with employees and union officials in four companies – two in aerospace (one in Britain and one in Italy) and two in automotive final assembly (one in Britain and one in Italy).

One of the recurrent themes to emerge from the worker interviews was that the experience of increased effort was not an inevitable outcome of the shifts in the composition of skills and tasks, but rather, a function of the workers' loss of any semblance of control over their work routines and range of responsibilities. What is distinctive about this case study analysis is that despite obvious material differences between the labour processes and working conditions of highly qualified aerospace engineers employed in HPW environments and semi‐skilled car workers employed on lean assembly lines, in two different countries, similar patterns of degradation of work were obtained. That is, technological change, such as the computerisation of design and production processes, along with various manifestations of lean staffing policies were together generating task enlargement. In micro‐political environments marked by a skewed balance of power between labour and the employer in favour of the latter, workers' autonomy had declined as had their ability to maintain some control over the pace and intensity of work. This does not sit favourably with the assumptions of those who advocate the use of “high performance work systems”.

The paper offers an in‐depth cross national sectoral analysis of claims that so‐called HPW significantly enhances workers' experiences of the workplace in contrast to workers' experiences of lean working environments.

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce this special issue on “International trade union networks, European works' councils and international labour regimes”.

The editorial provides an overview and introduces the papers which make up the special issue.

These papers allow us to consider the social, political and institutional dimensions of grass roots organising across countries and continents.

The issue adds new insights into the topic in addition to the more typical focus on institutional levels of union engagement.

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a model of union reform that may help to revitalize the labor movement. Our model presents a path using democracy and militancy to overcome union oligarchy to build stronger unions and a stronger broader movement. We develop a new model of union revitalization by expanding the Voss and Sherman (2000) model from our own experiences and a review of past union revitalization efforts. Democratic and militant strategies are a key to successful reform efforts. Entrenched union leaders tend to oppose such efforts. Reformers must adequately overcome entrenched leader responses to succeed in reforming their unions. We have developed a new conceptual model of union revitalization. Our model should be tested further through in-depth case studies and analysis of reform efforts which have failed or succeeded. Our model presents strategies and tactics for labor activists to revitalize their unions and the labor movement. We present a new model of union revitalization that looks at both internal and external union revitalization. This chapter accumulates evidence across reform efforts throughout the modern history of unions. This comparative and contrasting analysis of the evidence from these efforts is a unique contribution to the field. Further, the resulting model from this review presents a unique focus on the strategies and tactics of reform efforts as well as the interaction between union reform efforts and entrenched leaders. This model provides a path for both future research and practical revitalization efforts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evidence for trade union renewal in the UK fire service. Its aim is to consider two main questions: “How have union‐management relations and the industrial relations climate been affected by management reforms?” and “To the extent that there is deterioration in the IR climate, has this had an effect on union leadership style and also on union commitment and participation amongst ordinary members?”

The paper draws on interviews with managers and union representatives and a survey of firefighters in the north of England.

The research finds that a marked deterioration in the industrial relations climate led to changes in union leadership and to an increase in union commitment and participation amongst ordinary members. The poor climate created the conditions for union renewal by bringing forward union activists with more inclusive styles and by raising membership awareness of the need to vigorously defend their existing terms and conditions.

There is a research gap in the industrial relations literature on how industrial relations climate impacts on the renewal of workplace trade unionism.

This paper helps to fill the research gap in the industrial relations literature on how industrial relations climate impacts on the renewal of workplace trade unionism.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between trade unions and young workers in the UK using the Young Members’ Network of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union as a case study.

Findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 20 full-time officials and 39 lay officials of all ages, the collection and analysis of primary documents and observations at a range of union meetings.

It is argued that PCS has developed a strong network of young activists and is leading the way in terms of engaging with and representing young workers. However, its success in the future may be limited due to changes to the external environment in which the union is trying to organise.

The research highlights the role of an under researched area of trade union membership. To provide additional insights, further research is needed into the practice of other unions.

This paper provides significant qualitative analysis into this issue which complements the existing quantitative research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to bring together two separate strands of the literature (politics and industrial relations) on civil service management and reform to enable consideration of the industrial relations implications of these changes.

This paper is conceptual and has no empirical base. The paper is a general review of existing literature on the subject.

The paper identifies the importance of historical legacy in both management and union behaviour in the civil service. By revisiting earlier civil service reforms, the reader is able to gain an understanding of the rationale for much of the current restructuring of the civil service. Additionally, any discussion of trade union behaviour should be located in the context of union tradition and evolution.

In being a general review, the paper does not report empirical evidence but instead provides the background for future research into civil service industrial relations and management.

This paper is the first to provide a systematic review of management restructuring in the civil service whilst at the same time considering union responses. As such, the paper is of interest to academics and practitioners in the areas of both management and politics.