Democratizing Organizations: A Case Study of a Union Reform Movement

This article, using the United Steelworkers of America as a case study, examines the structures and strategies of reform groups most likely to lead to lasting democratic changes in organizations. Organizational democracy is not the impossibility indicated by such sociological theories as Michels's "iron law of oligarchy," Weber's view of leadership professionalization, and the neo-Marxist perspective that political and economic environments heavily influence internal organizational structure. The potential for organizational democracy is related to a reform group's ability to strengthen its own internal democratic processes by consciously adopting certain structures and strategies, such as a system of officers and elections, an open decision-making process, regular communication with grass-roots members, an emphasis on consistent political ideology, and long-term political goals.