PERSISTENT MILITANTS AND QUIESCENT COMRADES - INTRAINDUSTRY STRIKE ACTIVITY ON THE DOCKS, 1947-89

Although dockers have figured prominently as a critical case in many s tandard theories of industrial conflict, they have often behaved in wa ys which these theories cannot grasp. This is perhaps most clearly evi dent when strike action at the port rather than the industry level is the subject of attention. Most notably, industry level theories cannot explain the persistent militancy of dockers employed in the major por ts and the relative quiescence of their comrades employed at the small er ports. To be sure, industry level variables can be used to understa nd the general character of workplace relations and the processes invo lved in strike action, but to fully explain the actual incidence and i ntensity of strike action over both time and place also requires analy sis of the particular patterns of labour regulation at different ports and the consequent patterns of conflict and accommodation at the work place level.