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The role of labor unions in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains both ambiguous and crucial for union members and business leaders. Given the complex relationship between labor unions and corporations, this study aims to address whether labor unions keep corporations honest (by monitoring CSR activities) or potentially render CSR initiatives less necessary.

Using data from the MSCI Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Database for firms in the Russell 1000 Index, this study examines the link between labor unions and CSR in U.S. companies over a six year period. Generalized least squares models were used to test the hypotheses for 3,937 firm-year observations.

The findings show that unionized companies generally pay less attention to CSR compared to nonunionized ones. The presence of labor unions and positive union-management relations both show a significant negative impact on CSR ratings, where positive union-management relations negatively affect CSR ratings more than just the presence of labor unions. Further, when considering the environmental, social and governance aspects of CSR separately, the results are more complex, suggesting that the relationship between labor unions and CSR varies depending on specific ESG dimensions.

CSR, a well-researched area, rarely addresses the companies' relationships with labor unions. Studies in South Korea and the UK have touched on the impact of labor unions on CSR, but in the USA it remains unexplored. This study extends this line of work by examining U.S. companies.

The purpose of this paper is to test the ability of the theory of planned behaviour to predict worker intent towards an employee involvement (EI) programme, and the impact of union identification on workers’ decision making.

Union workers at a small manufacturing company in the Midwestern United States completed two questionnaires. The first questionnaire provided measures of the attitudinal, normative, and behavioural control components of the theory of planned behaviour and the degree to which they identified with their labour union. In the second questionnaire, the same respondents answered questions to measure their intention to support or oppose an employee involvement (EI) programme.

Intentions to support EI were accurately predicted from attitudes, normative support, and perceived behavioural control (0.05 level). Level of union identification moderated the impact of attitudes on intention to support EI for workers that did not identify heavily with the labour union (0.05 level), but did not moderate the effect of normative support on intention for workers who identified heavily with the labour union.

The results indicate that the theory of planned behaviour has the potential to be an effective tool in predicting the behavioural outcomes of union members in the workplace, and that the level of union identification affects decision making. Research is limited by same source methodology and no direct measure of behaviour.

Leaders, labour and management, who intend to implement new programmes, should give strong consideration to how workers’ social cohorts influence their decision making and plan for this contingency when considering programme changes.

The level of union identification influences perception and decision making but has not been considered in models of member decision making. EI research has tended to center on EI as the antecedent to outcomes such as job satisfaction, cooperation, retention, and quality of work life. This paper addresses the role of union identification in support for EI programmes, and uses a well‐established behavioural theory to explain workers’ decision‐making process.

This case examines the ethical issues raised when businesses contract for the military during time of war. Dow Chemical Company was a military contractor during the Vietnam War and the primary producer of Agent Orange - a defoliant used to clear vegetation. Agent Orange has been linked to a number of serious medical conditions in war veterans and Vietnamese civilians. In 2004, Vietnamese citizens filed suit against Dow for illnesses they believe were caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Dow thought the issue should have been addressed through political and social policy, while Vietnamese citizens and U.S. Vietnam war veterans believed Dow was ethically responsible. As the case moved through the U.S. judicial system, some of Dow's investors grew uncomfortable with how it was handled. Dow CEO Andrew Liveris was left to wonder what his company could have done differently and what they could learn from the Agent Orange episode that might prevent similar problems in the future. This incident appeared to be a relatively distinct case, but in July of 2007 it was reported that the number of private contract employees in Iraq exceeded that of U.S. military personnel. Consequently, it is likely that companies and their stakeholders will have to address similar issues.

AT the close of the year we look back upon twelve very chequered months in the story of librarianship. In the field of libraries as a whole, it may be said that they held their own and indeed that some progress has been made. A few libraries have been opened, mostly branch libraries, but there have been extensions and re‐organisations of central libraries, which point to a universally developing regard for the library service. Even if this has not been dramatic in some places, it has nevertheless been real. Men who were middle‐aged before the war must, however, pass away before we get the right perspective for the conditions of to‐day; that is to say, with few exceptions. We are not speaking of librarians here, but of those who control libraries, but even librarians of the older school have sometimes found it difficult to envisage library service on the scale common in America, which, with adjustments to British circumstances, should be the scale for us throughout the Empire.