CAN STRATEGIC PARTICIPATION BE INSTITUTIONALIZED - UNION REPRESENTATION ON AMERICAN CORPORATE BOARDS

This paper, drawing on interviews conducted in 1989 and 1990 with dire ctors nominated by unions to American corporate boards of directors, s hows that union choices in the establishment of board representation i n the 1980s reflected union strategy and structure. Those choices, in turn, established conditions that affected the ways in which represent ation influenced governance. The institutional environment strongly mi litated against the emergence of interest representation in the boardr oom; only an unusual constellation of choices was likely to lead to su ch pluralist deliberation. The strategic choices of unions were more l ikely to leave undisturbed the board's traditional function as a vehic le for overseeing shareholders' investment. The effectiveness of the o versight depended further on unions' choices in the establishment of b oard representation plans, selection of directors, and level of suppor t for directors.