Creating and Sustaining Local Union Capabilities: The Role of the National Union

Drawing on a case study evidence from the automotive, steel, and glass making industries, this article examines the role played by the national union in shaping local unions' abilities to develop and sustain the capabilities critical to managing on-going workplace restructuring. Evidence suggesting the importance of 5 national union characteristics is presented. These characteristics are the breadth of the national union's representational coverage; the extent of its education and training focus on new workplace issues; the resources it devotes to research on the implications of new workplace practices; the presence of multiple communications channels; and its structuring of local union representation.