Managing Trade Unions

In most relevant literature, those employed at a senior level in trade unions are described as ‘leaders;' at other levels as ‘officers' or ‘full time officers.' But unions are complex businesses. In the UK, one case study union, for example, has a turnover of well over £170m sterling. This book examines management in trade unions through the results of a research programme in four major UK trade unions. It explores what literature there is in this area, outlines the research, presents findings about the role of management in trade unions and examines trade union managers themselves. The argument from the research is that these individuals accept responsibility for their roles as managers and, accountable to the members, are performing managerial tasks to improve the way unions work and how they achieve their goals. This represents a major contribution to the literature on trade unions which up till now has rarely appreciated the importance and significance of management in this context.