The Impact of a Local Union on Its Membership in a Local Election

TUDIES of labor unions and local politics have taken two routes. Some authorities emphasize the organization or group approach2 and others prefer to study labor unions by exploring the political attitudes and behavioral patterns of union workers.3 The findings of both approaches have been marked by the variety of their conclusions. The organization analysts have learned that the manner in which local unions act in local politics depends on a number of factors. Among these are the nature of the local party system, the ideological bent of the local union leaders, the partisan or nonpartisan character of the local election, the political folkways and mores of the community, and the relationship of the union to the local economy, e.g., the craft unions to the construction industry.4 The attitudinalists, likewise, have drawn disparate conclusions depending upon the context of the investigation and the political orientation of the union. Those unions, like the UAW, which have advocated the more active participation of labor in politics have generated substantial worker support for active union political participation: those unions less receptive to this kind of political orientation have not received the same kind of union membership support found in the UAW.8 In any event, some of the important past behavioral studies were undertaken during the excitement of a partisan presidential campaign. This contextual fact may have influenced some of the findings on rank-and-file attitudes toward union political action

Context (archaeology) · Democracy · Ideology · Local election · Local government · Political economy · Political machine · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Economic and Fiscal Studies · EU Law and Policy Analysis · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Local Governance and Planning · Public Administration

• Competing Interest Groups and Union Members' Voting

  Open Access•Paul F Clark, Paul Clark et al.•Social Science Quarterly•2001

  Add to list

• Sociological Research and the American Working Class

  Open Access•William H Form, William Form•Sociological Quarterly•1983

  Add to list

• Union Membership and Voting for Cope-Endorsed Candidates

  John Thomas Delaney, Marick F Masters et al.•Industrial and Labor Relations…•1990

  Add to list

• The Impact of Unions on the Voting Behavior of Their Members

  Tom Juravich, Peter R Shergold et al.•Industrial and Labor Relations…•1988

  Add to list

• Union Political Activities

  Open Access•Marick F Masters, John Thomas Delaney•Industrial and Labor Relations…•1987

  Add to list

• We Want Both!’

  Alyssa Ribeiro•Labor History•2019

  Add to list

• "New-Style" Judicial Campaigns and the Voters

  Open Access•Marie Hojnacki, Lawrence Baum•The Western Political Quarterly•1992

  Add to list