...of the modern labour movement which in no way contradicted the trade union function as associations 'of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. "2S Indeed, there was an integral relationship between these two functions in that the...

...BEATRICE WEBB 1894 A Trade Union, as we understand the term, is a continuous association of wageearners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives. This form of association has, as we shall see, existed in England for over two centuries, and cannot...

...up to employers and gain acceptance by the community. 'A trade union,' they said, 'is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining...or improving the conditions of their working lives' (1894, p. 1). An economist starting from the assumption of the ultimate rationality of decisions is...

...Affairs, April. PETER MACMILLAN trade unions Trade (or trades) unions have been defined as 'a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining...or improving the conditions of their working lives' (Webb and Webb, l894: l). Trade unions first emerged in Victorian Britain, during the latter half of...

...debates about their purpose. Beatrice and Sidney Webb famously define a trade union as 'a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment'. 3* They later refine this definition, changing 'employment' to the broader 'working lives'.3'*...

...need might be met. TRADE UNIONS TODAY Beatrice and Sidney Webb defined a trade union as 'a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives'.2" According to the TUC, 'trade unions developed because working people could not rely on employers...

...base we encounter an initial problem of definition. The Webbs defined a trade union as 'a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment'.16 As HA Turner has shown, however, 'continuous association' did not necessarily require...

...Definition and Purpose The classic definition of a trade union is a "continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives."8 Unions arose to fight the exploitation of employees, which was, more often than not, the norm....

...protect and enhance the social and economic welfare of their members" (p. 9). A union is "a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining...or improving the conditions of their working lives" (Webb & Webb, 1920, p. 1). Lieberman (1997) asserts that a union "exists in whole or in part to represent...

...Beatrice Webb: 'A Trade Union, as we understand the term, is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives'. S. & B. Webb, The History of Trade Unions, London, Longman, 1920. 7 GK Busch, The Political Role of...