THE UNION AS EMPLOYER - PERSONNEL PRACTICES IN CANADIAN LABOR UNIONS

This paper reports on personnel practices in unions operating in Canad a. The analysis is based on survey data collected from a representativ e sample of 60 labour organizations. The findings indicate that for th e overall sample, formal, written personnel policies are the exception and not the rule in Canadian unions. The data also reveal however, th at personnel practices are conducted on a more formal, sophisticated b asis for Canadian unions with over 50,000 members. The results confirm findings of an earlier study of U.S. unions that there is a relations hip between size and sophistication of administrative practices in at least this one area. This ''economy of scale'' effect has important ra mifications for the efficient operation of unions and for the future s tructure of the labour movement in North America.