Staff, Stewards, and Strikes: Labor¿s Communication Gap

Union staffers think that the willingness and ability of the workers they represent to strike is the key to getting better contracts. Worksite leaders, however, think the key is the speaking and legal skill of the union representatives who bargain for them. This difference is rooted in their everyday experiences, but it leads to a communication gap of which neither is aware. Thus, stewards are likely to see a call for a strike authorization vote to give union staff members bargaining power a failure of the negotiator's skills, but staffers are likely, to see a failure to authorize a strike as indicating a failure of worksite leaders to organize their units. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]