A study of young workers' union behaviors

Abstract

PurposeThis study seeks to explore the union perspective of a group of unionized young Canadian teachers to understand their belief system about trade unionism.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used herein consists of collecting and examining the interview data of participants (n = 37) through the theoretical lens of radical perspective.FindingsThe findings suggest that participants positively associate unionism with bargaining for their special interests, providing professional development services and opportunities for professional socialization. But this pluralist perspective has not translated into an engagement in the union life.Research limitations/implicationsSo far, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the whole population of Canadian young teachers because the participants’ sample size is not large enough. In consideration of this limitation, unions need to survey the union opinions of their young rank and file members at a large scale to draw a clear understanding of the needs of these members to adequately adjust their renewal and revitalization strategies to those needs.Originality/valueThe findings of this study are significant because the intersection between young teachers and organized labor is underresearched in Canada.