Unions And It: Personal, Research, And Practitioner Perspectives

Abstract

This article first discusses the author's personal introduction to information technology (IT), using that experience to acknowledge the basis for some unionists’ resistance to IT adoption, to underscore the need to be open to innovation, and to stress the need to be cautious in forecasting. Second, selected recent research on IT in unions is reviewed to provide a broader context. Research suggests that IT has had a critical impact for union organizing and overall union effectiveness. The next section reviews union IT experience from a recent organizing campaign and related events involving a statewide faculty union local that was challenged to “renew” itself by an external deunionization threat. A following section points to the ubiquity of IT in everyday union affairs, drawing on the faculty union's experience. Finally, a concluding section offers a perspective and speculation on the future of IT in unions.

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