Some Aspects of the Nature of Unionism Among Salaried Professionals in Industry

Abstract

DURING the past two decades, significant numbers of new kinds of workers have become involved in the American trade union movement. Labor unions have reached out to include not only the lessskilled clerical workers, but semior subprofessionals, such as nurses, teachers, social workers, librarians, and others, and technical professionals such as engineers, chemists, physicists, and designers. The extension of union organization to these new categories of employees has significance for the union movement, industry, and society at large, since it represents a fundamental shift in outlook and organization by large numbers of people. This paper will deal primarily with the technical professionals-engineers and scientists-as a case in point. While the tremendous expansion of the white-collar segment of the American labor force, particularly since 1870, is widely recognized, many of its implications remain unexplored.' Some social scientists have been concerned with the impact of this growth on the class structure of American society. Another consequence, and one very often overlooked, has been the growth of trade unions among white-collar employees. As