The Impact of Technological Change on Union Structure

Abstract

A number of studies have looked at the impact of new technology on job security and the various ways in which unions have responded to this challenge, but little research has been undertaken on the effects of technology on the bargaining power of unions. Over the last decade the introduction of new cargo handling methods on the Australian waterfront has seriously threatened the negotiating and industrial base of the Waterside Workers Federation. This article examines the strategies adopted by the union in an effort to restore its organisational strength. These were largely directed towards an attempt to gain control of newly strategic groups of workers on the waterfront.