Professional, Participative and Managerial Unionism: An Interpretation of Change in Trade Unions

This paper argues that the `servicing relationship' between trade unions and their members has passed through three phases in the postwar period. These are termed `professional unionism', characterized by membership dependence on a cadre of expert representatives; `participative unionism', in which union officers facilitated self-reliance among union members; and `managerial unionism', in which members are viewed as reactive consumers who must be attracted by a well-researched and promoted servicing package. Evidence is presented from a range of sources to support this interpretation, though the argument is qualified in recognition of variation between unions, the use of hybrid approaches to servicing and the necessary limits to the complete adoption of each of the three servicing relationships. The paper concludes by reviewing the implications of the argument for theories of union government and makes a case for a cultural account of change in trade unions to supplement existing systems, contingency and conflict theories.