Section Five
management may pull together for the benefit of
the firm. Three studies have examined the link
between productivity and the state of industrial
relations at plants, and all three have found
strong support for this proposition.^42In addition, it can be argued that under very specific
conditions, the net effect of unionism and good labor relations
may be positive. This argument is provided in the following:
What unions do to productivity is one of the key
factors in assessing the overall impact of unions.
The new quantitative studies indicate that
productivity is generally higher in unionized
establishments than in otherwise comparable
establishments that are nonunion, but that the
relationship is far from immutable and has
notable exceptions. Higher productivity appears
to run hand in hand with good industrial relations
and to be spurred by competition in the product
market, while lower productivity under unionism
appears to exist under the opposite
circumstances.^43