ABSTRACT
One of the principal influences on the merger process is membership decline, which may, or may not, be associated with financial pressures (Chaison 1996; Waddington 1995). The purpose of this chapter is to identify the pre-merger membership and financial trends of the unions involved in the four core merger processes. This chapter thus establishes quantifiable pre-merger developments, which provide the backdrop to the following three chapters on the different stages of the merger process. To elaborate the pre-merger pattern of development, this chapter examines two further aspects of these trends. First, the nature of inter-union competition is assessed in the context of the pre-merger trends in membership, to identify the specific areas of co-operation and conflict among the unions involved. Second, the impact of changing financial circumstances on staffing levels and structures of union governance is also examined, to elaborate the extent of pressure towards merger. The chapter thus elaborates different aspects of the pre-merger politics of bargaining.
