Worker Voice in the U.S.: Unitarist and Pluralist Perspectives

Sean Edmund Rogers ()
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Sean Edmund Rogers: University of Rhode Island

Chapter 3 in Employee Voice in the Global North, 2023, pp 35-60 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The nature, processes, and outcomes of worker voice in the U.S. are dynamic and ever-changing. This chapter reviews voice in America through the lens of two important theories of the employment relationship—the unitarist theory of employment relations and the pluralist theory of employment relations. Unitarism speaks to a mode of worker voice that is individual in nature, prosocial, and intended to enhance employer organisational outcomes. Pluralism, on the other hand, is collective in nature and focuses firstly on improving working conditions and employment outcomes for workers en masse. The chapter considers how each of these theoretical approaches influences the form and function of worker voice, provides examples of how voice gets exercised under each perspective, and reviews outcomes for workers and organisations. It also considers limitations and boundary conditions of each perspective and discusses ideas about the future of voice among American workers.

Keywords: Worker voice; Labour law; Prosocial behaviour; Employment relations; Unitarist; Pluralist; American workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-31123-9_3

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-31123-9_3

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