This article outlines some of the recent strategies developed by unions in the United States to promote greater employee involvement and influence over decisions at the workplace. In particular three points of focus are identified as worker participation areas: new technology, work environment and skills training/education. Unions have developed some important proactive strategies, but are struggling within a labor relations climate which is split between anti-union employers and those who are advocates for participative management practices. The change in political climate may have important consequences in the near future.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions/Trade Development Council)
(1987) Australia Reconstructed. Canberra: AGPS.
2.
ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions)
(1992) Workplace Reform, Skills Development and a High-Competence Educated Workforce Policy. Melbourne: ACTU.
3.
Banks, A.
and J. Metzgar (1989) 'Participating in Management: Union Organizing on a New Terrain', Labor Research Review14(1): 55-55.
4.
Bluestone, B.
and I. Bluestone (1992) Negotiating the Future. New York: Basic Books.
5.
Cohen-Rosenthal, E.
and C. Burton (1987) Mutual Gains. New York: Praeger.
6.
Commission on Skills of the American Workforce
(1990) America's Choice. High Skills or Low Wages. Rochester, NY: National Center on Education and the Economy.
7.
Cooke, W.
(1990) Labor-Management Cooperation. Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
8.
Deutsch, S.
(1986) 'New Technology, Union Strategies, and Worker Participation', Economic and Industrial Democracy7: 529-539.
9.
Deutsch, Steven
(1987a) 'New Technology and Worker Participation', Productivity and the Future of Work. Frankfurt: RKW.
10.
Deutsch, S.
(1987b) 'Successful Worker Training Programs Help Ease Impact of Technology', Monthly Labor Review110: 3-20.
11.
Deutsch, S.
(1991 a) 'Flexible Labor Markets and Labor Training -An American and International Analysis', in S. Hecker and M. Hallock (eds), Labor in a Global Economy. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Press.
12.
Deutsch, S.
(1991b) 'Workplace Democracy and Worker Health: Strategies for Intervention', in J. Johnson and G. Johansson (eds), The Psychosocial Work Environment. Work Organization, Democratization and Health. Amityville, NY: Baywood.
13.
Deutsch, S.
(1992) 'Strategies for Work Redesign in Client-Centered Public Agencies and Health Care Institutions', International Productivity Review3 (Fall): 1-9.
14.
Deutsch, S.
and S. Albrecht (1983) 'Worker Participation in the United States', Labour and Society8: 241-269.
15.
Eaton, A.
and P. Voos (1992) 'Unions and Contemporary Innovations in Work Organization, Compensation, and Employee Participation', in L. Mishel and P. Voos (eds), Unions and Economic Competitiveness. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.
16.
Ferman, L.
et al. (eds) (1991) Joint Programs for the Training and Personal Development of Workers: New Initiatives in Union-Management Relations. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.
17.
Frei, F.
, M. Hugentobler, S. Schurman and A. Alioth (1993) Designing Work for
18.
Gallagher, J.
(ed.) (1992) Restructuring the American Workplace: Implications J0r the Public Sector. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center.
19.
Gill, C.
and H. Krieger (1992) 'The Diffusion of Participation in New Information Technology in Europe', Economic and Industrial Democracy13: 331-358.
20.
Hallock, M.
and B. Baugh (1992) 'High Stakes: Oregon Labor Sets Union Agenda for High Skill, High Wage Strategy', Labor Research Review19: 69-82.
21.
Heckscher, C.
(1988) The New, Unionism. Employee Involvement inl the Changing Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
22.
HEW
(1973) Work in America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
23.
Kelley, M.
and B. Harrison (1992) 'Unions, Technology and Labor-Management Cooperation', in L. Mishel and P. Voos (eds), Unions and Economic Competitiveness. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.
24.
Lewin, D.
(1992) 'Work Organization, Labour-Management Relations and Participation Practices in United States Enterprises', in J. Rojot (ed.), New? Directions in Work Organization The Industrial Relations Response. Paris: OECD.
25.
Marshall, R.
(1987) Unheard Voices: Labor and Economic Policy in a Competitiue World. New York: Basic Books.
26.
Marshall, R.
and M. Tucker (1992) Thinkingfor a Living. New York: Basic Books.
27.
Parker, M.
(1985) Inside the Circle: A Union Guide to QWL. Boston, MA: South End Press.
28.
Sarmiento, A.
and S. Schurman (1992) A Job-Linked Literacy Program for SPC. Are We Talking About Worker Training, Work Reorganization or More Equitable Workplaces?New York: Work in America Institute.
29.
US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
(1976) Major Collective Bargaining Agreements: Safety and Health Provisions, Bulletin 1425-16. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
30.
US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor-Management Relations and Cooperative Programs
(1989) The Challenge of New Technology to Labor-Management Relations. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
