Business unionism
Encyclopedia
A business union is a description of a particular type of trade union
, or of a trade union with particular characteristics. The meaning of business unionism has changed over a period of time. The term is believed to be of American
derivation, and has been applied in particular to phenomena characteristic of American unions. Hyman (1973) attributed the term "business unionism" to Hoxie, but Michael Goldfield (1987) notes that the term was in common usage before Hoxie published in 1915.
According to Goldfield, Hoxie used the term to describe trade-consciousness, rather than class-consciousness; in other words, according to Hoxie, business unionists were advocates of "pure and simple" trade unionism, as opposed to class or revolutionary unionism. This sort of business unionism is what Eugene Debs often referred to as the "old unionism".
After industrial unions
(as opposed to craft unions
) were being successfully organized, "business unionism" began to take on a new meaning, which is, the literal running of the union as if it was a business.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, or of a trade union with particular characteristics. The meaning of business unionism has changed over a period of time. The term is believed to be of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
derivation, and has been applied in particular to phenomena characteristic of American unions. Hyman (1973) attributed the term "business unionism" to Hoxie, but Michael Goldfield (1987) notes that the term was in common usage before Hoxie published in 1915.
According to Goldfield, Hoxie used the term to describe trade-consciousness, rather than class-consciousness; in other words, according to Hoxie, business unionists were advocates of "pure and simple" trade unionism, as opposed to class or revolutionary unionism. This sort of business unionism is what Eugene Debs often referred to as the "old unionism".
After industrial unions
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
(as opposed to craft unions
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
) were being successfully organized, "business unionism" began to take on a new meaning, which is, the literal running of the union as if it was a business.
Minneapolis business alliance
One of the earliest uses of the term business union may have been the name adopted by an alliance of businesses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the purpose of attracting manufacturing to the city. This usage relating to a "union" of businesses appears to be unrelated to the use of the term to describe characteristics of certain labor unions.See also
- Company unionCompany unionA company union is a trade union which is located within and run by a company or by the national government, and is not affiliated with an independent trade union. Company unions were outlawed in the United States by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, due to their use as agents for interference...
- Labor aristocracyLabor aristocracy"Labor aristocracy" or "Labour aristocracy" has three meanings: as a term with Marxist theoretical underpinnings, as a specific type of trade unionism, and/or as a shorthand description by revolutionary industrial unions for the...
- Labor federation competition in the United States