While Quality of Working Life (Q WL) has received a great deal of attention over the past years, somewhat less attention has been given to the role and impact of unions on QWL programs. The role that unions play is controversial. In order to examine the effect of union involvement, this paper uses the case survey method to analyze nine union and nine non-union organizations which implemented QWL programs. The union leadership appeared to play a positive role in improving the design and implementation of the QWL program, but there appeared to be an inability of the union leadership to transmit the program to the rank-and-file members. Recommendations are made to increase rank-and-file involvement in the QWL program.
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