ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the link between engineers and labour unions through a comparative perspective. It aims to take two countries, Britain and America, with many similar characteristics in terms of managerial cultures and ideologies, but with quite marked differences with regard to the unionization of engineers. Traditional explanations of low rates of unionization among professionals have tended to focus on the nature of professionalism itself. The engineering associations in Britain and the United States, thus, have not been mechanisms for occupational control. The leadership of the professional societies in both countries is dominated by engineers with strong ties to the major private-sector employers of engineers. Unionism among engineers in the British case represents a complex interaction between exclusivity and efficacy. British engineers have historically entered the engineering profession through premium apprenticeships and pupillage to particular employers who exercised a massive influence on the structuring of the engineering profession.
