Kovner, in an historical cycle of "democratic action and dormancy
and regeneration" made possible by the democratic society within
which American unions operate.

Our authors are generally agreed that the major concern of organ-
ized labor is its role in industry. The extent and limits of this role are
analyzed by L. Reed Tripp. Tripp holds that the paramount function
of unions is "the advancement of the well-being and aims of employee
membership." In carrying out this function unions may serve as a
stabilizing device in industry, as a communication mechanism within
the plant, and as a reflection of the psychological drives of industrial
workers. The most controversial issue concerning the union's role in
industry is the matter of participation of the union in formulating and
administering the rules of conduct governing the employment rela-
tionship. Tripp finds that the concepts of "industrial jurisprudence,"
"industrial democracy," and "industrial government" have stressed
different aspects of the union's participation role without pinpointing
the problem of limits. He concludes that the extent and limit of the
union's role is not precisely measurable in a mathematical or legalistic
sense and will vary from one bargaining situation to another. Em-
ployer strength, the public's concept of reasonableness, and the union's
role as protector and advocate of worker job interests all serve as
checks on the extent of union participation in managerial functions.

Another highly controversial question regarding the role of organ-
ized labor in industry is the geographic area of collective bargaining.
David A. McCabe also emphasizes the pragmatic character of the
American labor movement in examining this question. He concludes
that "there is no one area of bargaining that is a matter of union
principle. The area of bargaining is but an instrument for the attain-
ment of the particular objectives of the particular union." McCabe
finds that the two outstanding areas of bargaining are the locality-wide
and the company-wide areas. Each represents "a convenient unit for
the exertion of union pressure (in the absence of conflicting unionism)
combined with little employer resistance to the area 'on principle'."
Union pressure for industry-wide bargaining appears "not very in-
sistent in the absence fo the necessity of repelling employer charges
that employers in other localities are receiving lower terms that enable
them to take away the business."

Albert Rees deals with union wage policies. Rees postulates that
American trade unions are "organizations whose objectives are pri-
marily economic, and whose decisions are reached through a political

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