lining effectiveness of the strike. The strike has been the paradigm of collective action by unions in the past. The strike process was challenged when employers began taking the offensive. (Clawson 1999) The Union busting by the companies involved hiring scabs to restore production and break the union down by attrition. The effectiveness of the unions to strike reached a low point in 1981 when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, who struck despite having a no strike clause in their contract. With the decline in the effectiveness of the strike, many unions focused their attention on finding and developing alternate sources of power. The stance of the unions seemed to be; if we cannot hurt the company by striking alone, we will employ help and hurt them in other ways. One practice used was called the “corporate campaign”. The corporate campaign was an attempt to influence investors, lenders, customers, suppliers, and stockholders into putting pressure on the employer. (Hurd 1998) Also used in this attempt to apply pressure were government regulatory agencies, elected officials, and community allies. The external pressure was to increase the cost of the employer’s resistance and make them more likely to settle. Another area the unions have tried to reform or restructure their model is in the area of organizing. Because of the lack of fear of, and even hostility towards the unions by some employers, and “because the law permits employers to actively intervene in the election process, the fact that a majority of workers at a given site want representation is no longer enough to achieve certification.” (Clawson 1999) This happens despite the intent of federal labor laws favoring the unions’. In order to focus more attention of organizing, the AFL-CIO created the Organizing Institute. The OI was created to train people, including many recent college graduates, to be organizers. (Foerster 1996) ...
