Labor unions and Nash bargaining using coalition formation games

In this paper we examine the properties of stable coalitions under sequential and simultaneous bargaining by competing labor unions. We do this using the Nash bargaining solution and various notions of stability, namely, Nash, coalitional, contractual and core stability. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,

The Mixed Fortunes of Irish Unions: Living with the Paradoxes of Social Partnership

We assess the fortunes of Irish unions since 1980 and, in particular, focus on the period of national social partnership since 1987. We argue that, structurally, unions have been weakened by a sharp decline in union density levels. In addition, labor law reform has not been as permissive as unions desired. However, on the other hand, we highlight that union membership in Ireland has never been higher and unions exert a strong influence over many areas of government policy. In conclusion, we argue that continuing with social partnership is the most viable option for Irish unions, though significant gains in union power are unlikely to happen.

Trades Unions and the Transition away from 'actually existing unsustainability':From economic crisis to a new political economy beyond growth

Traditionally trades unions have accepted and promoted orthodox economic growth as a policy imperative. In recent years there has been a noticeable ‘greening’ of trade unions in relation to initiatives such as the ‘Green new deal’ and the creation of ‘green collar’ employment and the focus on a ‘just transition’ to a low carbon economy. Yet given the growing evidence of the negative impacts of economic growth in terms of environmental, resource and pollution impacts as well as the inability of economic growth to tackle (as opposed to managed) socio-economic inequality, it is timely to review the case for trades unions to fundamentally rethink the commitment to orthodox economic growth. That is, for trades unions to consider going beyond their current ‘green/sustainability’ strategies to consider more radical ‘post-growth’ policy positions. This chapter will explore some of the dimensions of a ‘post-growth’ trade union agenda by considering the evidence for going beyond growth from within the trade union movement (specifically looking at the International Labor Organization’s 2004 report on Economic Security, to internal union discussions around trades unionism and climate change) and external evidence ranging from Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level (which suggests amongst other things that in the developed world what is needed is not economic growth but greater redistribution and lowering inequality – issues also of traditional interest to the Trades Union movement) to Tim Jackson’s Prosperity without Growth (which suggests that economic growth is ecologically unsustainable as well having passed a threshold beyond which it is contributing to human well-being in the developed world). As well as discussing the relationship between trades unionism and what may be called ‘green political economy’ (such as the ‘degrowth’ and ‘limits to growth’ perspectives) this chapter will also discuss the practical/policy implications of this ‘post-growth’ perspective in relation to trades unionism’s analysis of capitalism and its transformation in the context of a climate changed, carbon constrained world, including implications for ideas such as basic income, a shorter working week and what a trades unionism focused on how to achieve high quality of life within a low carbon context might look like.

Selection Power and Selection Labor for Information Retrieval

This study examines the relation between selection power and selection labor for information retrieval (IR). It is the first part of the development of a labor theoretic approach to IR. Existing models for evaluation of IR systems are reviewed and the distinction of operational from experimental systems partly dissolved. The often covert, but powerful, influence from technology on practice and theory is rendered explicit. Selection power is understood as the human ability to make informed choices between objects or representations of objects and is adopted as the primary value for IR. Selection power is conceived as a property of human consciousness, which can be assisted or frustrated by system design. The concept of selection power is further elucidated, and its value supported, by an example of the discrimination enabled by index descriptions, the discovery of analogous concepts in partly independent scholarly and wider public discourses, and its embodiment in the design and use of systems. Selection power is regarded as produced by selection labor, with the nature of that labor changing with different historical conditions and concurrent information technologies. Selection labor can itself be decomposed into description and search labor. Selection labor and its decomposition into description and search labor will be treated in a subsequent article, in a further development of a labor theoretic approach to information retrieval.

The Financial Accountability of Irish Credit Unions: an initial empirical study

Credit unions are member-owned, voluntary, self-help, democratic, not-for-profit institutions that provide financial services to their members. They have both economic and social goals. Over this last decade they have achieved remarkable growth levels and currently there are 600 such organisations in Ireland, with approximately 50 per cent of the adult population of Ireland belonging to a credit union. Accounting for credit unions is a much-neglected area and relatively little is known about the sector's accountability. This paper presents the results of an initial empirical study of the financial accountability of Irish credit unions. A series of interviews and a basic content analysis of 178 recent financial statements were used to identify the views of key stakeholders with respect to the discharge of financial accountability by credit unions and the current quality of financial reporting. Overall, the research points to a sector where financial accountability through the medium of the annual report is weak and possible adverse consequences of this are explored. On the basis of the interviews it is suggested that if changes in financial accountability are to be achieved then some more proactive engagement of parties external to the management of individual credit unions is needed.