ABSTRACT
The starting point for this research was a desire to paint a rich and colourful picture of the relatively neglected, under-researched and little understood occupation of the full-time trade union officer. These 'second level', 'middle layer' local union officers are placed between the very much more researched lay officials and shop stewards and those significant national leaders who have received considerable public attention (if, perhaps less formal academic analysis than might be possible). These 'ordinary' full-time officers play a vital role in translating into action the values and aspirations of members, and they form a key link between the union membership and national union structures and processes. The social action orientation of this project has emphasised the importance of drawing out the experience of those social actors who occupy full-time officer posts together with some of the ways in which this experience relates to the structural context in which they are located. In pursuit of this aim, the comparative method has been employed. By looking at the officers' counterparts on the managerial side, similarities and differences between those two occupational groups have been highlighted in a way which points up some of the essential features of their work.
