Unions as value-adding networks: Possibilities for the future of U.S. unionism

VII. Conclusions The decline in private sector union density in the U.S. coincided with increased innovation at the local level. One trend in particular, value-adding unionism, may offer some hope for those who believe that workers, the economy, and the nation benefit from strong, independent trade union movement. Unions that can add value to firm performance while at the same time fulfilling their responsibilities to represent the collective and individual interests of their membership have greater appeal to potential union members seeking opportunities for both representation and participation. Since they add economic value to firms, they may also reduce the level of managerial resistance that we have seen in recent history. Farber and Western (2001) argue that the overall U.S. decline in union density is almost entirely due to falling employment in unionized firms and increases in nonunion firms. This value-adding approach offers one strategy to preserve and expand union employment in firms where it is already established, thus slowing or reversing the decline. Moreover, as structural changes in the economy have led to shifts away from sectors with high levels of union density, they have at the same time put a premium on the ability of firms to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace and the competitive environment. Value-adding unions can provide the infrastructure for organizational networks that facilitate the communication and coordination necessary to adjust to such changes. Thus, new forms of representation that provide unions and their members with greater opportunities in decision making, management, and governance can add value to both management and labor. I thank Charles Heckscher and Bruce Kaufman for comments on earlier drafts of the paper and the National Science Foundation, Rutgers University, and MIT for financial support.     

Long-term care planning as a cultural system

This paper treats long-term care planning from a cultural perspective, that is, as a cultural system in which components of long-term care interlock culturally and therefore meaningfully. In the introduction and background sections, we provide a context in which long-term care planning may be viewed, based on the finding that relatively few people take advantage of long-term care planning and insurance; we also discuss some earlier work on long-term care from a psychological perspective that emphasizes themes of imagination and self-efficacy. We then examine long-term care from a cultural perspective by identifying and explicating five broad themes that help us better understand the meaning of long-term care planning to Americans. Finally, we use these themes to suggest some important social policy correlates.     

Gay men and lesbians' experiences in and expectations for interactions with heterosexuals

We analyzed 97 gay men's and lesbians' experiences with and expectations for interactions with majority group members. Respondents described reactions to previous or imagined future interactions with an unfamiliar heterosexual person who had just become aware that the respondent was lesbian or gay. Results indicated that respondents are more proactive than reactive (in contrast to expectation states theories), that the contact hypothesis can be appropriately applied to this group, even though the formulation of the theory was based upon negative attitudes in the absence of extensive contact, and that they have different reactions for people of different prejudice levels, rather than being globally suspicious, as is predicted by many intergroup theories. Future research should direct more attention to the stigmatized group members' attitudes about and reactions toward the majority group.     

Sexuality-Related Risks are Judged more Harshly than Comparable Health Risks

Objectives: In three studies, the authors examined the extent to which STIs and sexual behavior were perceived negatively compared to objectively riskier behaviors. Methods: In Study 1, participants estimated the risk of death as a result of contracting HIV from one instance of unprotected sex (with a noninjection drug user) relative to the risk of death as a result of an automobile accident (a 300 mile drive). In Study 2a, participants read one of two vignettes, in which a target either unknowingly transmitted an STI (chlamydia) or a nonsexual disease (H1N1) to another person through a sexual encounter. In Study 2b, participants read one of 12 vignettes; the type of disease (chlamydia or H1N1), severity of the disease outcome (mild, moderate, or severe), and sex of transmitter (female or male) were manipulated. In Study 3, state-level public health and driving websites were coded for risk-reduction recommendations. Results: In Studies 1 and 2, participants rated the target who transmitted chlamydia more negatively than the target who transmitted H1N1; participants also perceived the target who transmitted chlamydia with a mild severity outcome (the sexual partner took antibiotics for one week) more negatively than the target who transmitted H1N1 with a severe outcome (the sexual partner died from contracting H1N1; Study 2). In Study 3, most state-level public health websites promoted safety through a recommendation that the public abstain from sex; no similar recommendations were provided on driving websites (an objectively riskier behavior). Conclusions: The stigmatization of STIs is beyond the degree of severity (relative to other diseases) and viewed as unjustifiably risky (relative to other risky activities).     

Young Adults’ Race,Wealth, and Entrepreneurship

This study explored relationships among young adults’ wealth and entrepreneurial activities with emphasis on how these relationships differed among racial and ethnic groups. Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, results indicated that young adults’ (N = 8984) higher accumulated amounts of wealth were associated with pursuing self-employment at higher rates; however, differences emerged when the associations were explored with various types of wealth and within racial and ethnic groups. Black young adults’ greater debt and net worth were associated with their increased likelihoods of self-employment. Among Latino/a young adults, greater liquid assets and net worth were associated with increased likelihoods of self-employment. Wealth was unrelated to white young adults’ self-employment. Wealth appeared to play an outsized role in the self-employment of black and Latino/a young adults compared to that of their white counterparts. In other words, racial and ethnic minority young adults may have a heavier burden for generating their own capital to embark on entrepreneurial activities when mainstream credit markets are unresponsive or inaccessible. Policy implications are discussed.     

Luchadoras Pensadoras: Reframing the development outcomes of Latina high school wrestlers

Many necessary developmental assets and competencies can be accrued through the participation of sport that aid in the holistic healthy development of adolescent girls; however, much research in this area has focused on adolescent girls as a monolithic group, disregarding the specific outcomes of sport for girls of color. Through analysis of semistructured interviews of 31 Latina high school wrestlers, we identified various developmental outcomes associated with their sport involvement. We apply a new epistemological approach to positive youth development within the context of sports development through the usage of extensive narratives of two of the girls. This study explores adolescent Latinas’ involvement in high school wrestling, a sport that is widely male dominated yet rising in popularity.