Struggle is not exclusively a preoccupation for disgruntled shop-floor workers. In each chapter of this book we have sought to explore how struggle lies at the heart of organizational life. We have tried to uncover some of the ways that people struggle against and with managerial initiatives. These struggles are sparked by a whole range of situations, including antagonistic structural positions between workers and employers, attempts by employees to build dignified identities, the persistence of subcultures of opposition in the workplace, and so forth. We propose that almost all these flash points of struggle seem to point to some elemental concern for a fair distribution of resources, the recognition of oneself as a dignified and meaningful person, and the right to make decisions within the organization. In other words, animating many struggles in organizations is the issue of justice.

In this chapter we hope to show how struggles for justice are a central part of organizational life. In order to do this we use the illustrative examples of the Melbourne Port dispute (Australia), the gay and lesbian, transgender and bisexual (GLTB) employee movement and the shareholder rights movement that sought to challenge the managerial control of large corporations in the United States.