ABSTRACT
In the literature, union commitment has frequently been defined as an attitude concept (Fullagar and Barling, 1987) reflecting members’ identification with the union and with its goals and values (Kuruvilla, Gallagher and Wetzel, 1993). An assumption common to most approaches to union commitment is that this identification will increase the likelihood of participating in union activity (Barling, Fullagar and Kelloway, 1992). Thus, commitment is crucial for effective union functioning. As noted by Gallagher and Clark (1989, p. 52), ‘the effectiveness of unions in organizing, bargaining, retaining membership, and political action depends on the level of commitment the organization is able to build among present and potential union members’. Besides being of obvious practical value to the unions, research on union commitment also contributes to knowledge about the psychological processes involved in organizational attachment and social action within organizations (Gordon and Nurick, 1981).
