LABOR RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.
Item
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Title
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LABOR RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.
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Identifier
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AAI8319767
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identifier
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8319767
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Creator
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GERMANO, THOMAS J.
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Contributor
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William Kornblum | Bogdan Denitch
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Industrial and Labor Relations
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Abstract
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Throughout its history, the American postal service has been characterized by a patronage "spoils system," coercive management control, and a labor force fragmented by craft jurisdictions and jealousies. But evolving alongside the formal structure was an elaborate and effective informal system of reward and control which was operative in postal workers' daily peer relationships. This informal organization engendered local political clubs and ethnic associations which eventually became an important basis for rank and file organizing of postal workers.;In 1970, almost one quarter million postal workers walked off their jobs in violation of federal law and against the wishes of their union leadership. The strike contributed to a major reorganization of the postal service and led to a reform movement within the postal unions. This study examines the evolution of labor/management relations in this large scale federal bureaucracy. It pays special attention to the socialization patterns resulting from the division of labor and the effect these patterns have had on the militancy of postal workers. A second important line of analysis in this thesis deals with bureaucratic reaction to worker militancy.;The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 established a set of labor/management relations similar to the private sector but outlawed the right to strike. The Act, which contains provisions for collective bargaining and arbitration, institutionalized major conflict within the postal service. Since 1971, the salaries of postal workers have risen dramatically while postal management has increased its control of the workplace through the application of scientific management. The number of craft employees has decreased and many networks of social organization have been destroyed. The number of supervisory personnel has increased and the ranks of the internal police force have tripled. Despite the rise of "militant" insurgents to positions of formal leadership, the postal unions have become increasingly ineffective at the bargaining table and have once again turned to more traditional lobbying tactics on Capitol Hill. There they find themselves facing a hostile Administration at a time when workers rank and file organizing has been subverted by bureaucratic dominance and control.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
