ABSTRACT
A common theme emerging from previous chapters is that employment relationships that feature “new economy” characteristics, such as increased job mobility, and shorter job tenure, may still have needs that can be addressed by collective representation, even though the characteristics or their employment relationships in new media typically challenge traditional union strategies. The information technology or IT workforce is an appropriate focus for this study because it is a paradigmatic case for the characteristics associated with “new economy” jobs, such as nonstandard employment relationships, increased job mobility, and shorter job tenure. These characteristics typically challenge traditional union strategies and are an increasingly common feature in employment relationships. Yet, that does not necessarily mean that this workforce is uninterested in collective representation.
