"Union affiliation is often viewed with cynicism by both managers and some academics in the field of human resource management. This research note reports New Zealand data from an exploratory study which examines the relationship between union affiliation and a range of workplace attitudes commonly considered as related to positive performance outcomes for the organization. Using a survey approach, the views of managers, supervisors and workers are assessed. Differences between groups are identified using t–tests. This study finds no discernible difference to exist between past union affiliation and views about employment relations, organizational commitment, job satisfaction and HRM effectiveness for all three of the groups examined. However, differences are evident for current union membership. This tended to be associated with comparatively lower ratings across nearly all of the attitudinal dimensions examined for both supervisors and workers, but not for managers. Also of interest, this study finds the lowest ratings recorded for all three groups to be in relation to the practice of HRM."

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