Disintegrating Democracy at Work ─ Labor Unions and the Future of Good Jobs in the Service Economy

This book is about the role labor unions can and should play in the modern service sector. Doellgast (employment relations and organization behavior, London School of Economics) draws on her research into changes in unionization and management in call-center industries of both the United States and Germany during the 1990s and 2000s following market liberalization. She argues that institutional supports for workplace democracy are essential where there are pressures to cut costs and limit worker autonomy. In the process she also looks at the social costs of market liberalization and when collective bargaining arrangements are weakened. Three appendices present table-data on interviewees, organizational characteristics based on region and collective bargaining arrangements. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)