ABSTRACT
Imperial Oil has continuously operated North America’s most significant and well-developed non-union representation plan. After almost 100 years of using a non-union system, the Canadian company remains firmly committed to developing non-union representation vehicles to satisfy the need for managers to interact with employees and employees’ desire for voice and influence over their working lives. The choices made by Imperial allow us to examine why formal non-union practices persist over many generations despite the dramatic economic booms and busts that are endemic of the “oil patch” and even after fundamental shifts in business practices following a massive merger. How did non-union voice thinking become so entrenched within the Imperial culture?
