FACTORS AFFECTING THE ATTITUDES OF PUBLIC MANAGERS TOWARD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
DENNIS R. HOWARD AND DAVID F. CULKIN
DOI: 10.2190/Y9FJ-56NL-FE73-0Y2E
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that management attitudes toward collective bargaining play an important role in determining the success of union-management relations. This paper explores the degree to which managers' attitudes are in turn influenced by certain environmental factors: 1) the "age" of the bargaining unit, 2) its affiliation status, 3) the number of bargaining units with which the manager must deal and 4) the extent to which supervisory personnel hold union membership. Environmental factors were found to exert a moderating influence on public managers' attitudes toward collective bargaining but not always in the directions suggested by labor relations literature. The bargaining relationship did not tend to "mellow" with age. Managers of employees belonging to the Teamsters were found to have significantly less favorable attitudes toward unionization than managers dealing with AFSCME members.
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