Employee publications and employee representation plans: The case of Colorado Fuel and Iron,1915

Abstract

From 1915—1942 Colorado Fuel and Iron (CFI) Company's employee publications were an important vehicle for advertising the company's liberal labor policies to its employees and the general pubic. The Industrial Bulletin in particular was part of a strategy by CFI and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the primary stockholder, to win back public support following the Ludlow Massacre and champion his Employee Representation Plan (ERP) as a civilized approach to labor relations. While the later Blast did not carry as much information concerning the ERP as the Industrial Bulletin, it was still an important means for the company to promote the ERP and its welfare policies, particularly during the pro-Labor climate of the New Deal. CFI management combined the strategies of trivialization and capitulation in running their employee publications. While trivialization tried to show that management was concerned with their employees, capitulation ensured that there was no criticism of management.

Keywords

company unions employee representation Ludlow Rockefeller welfarism

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Employee publications and employee representation plans: The case of Colorado Fuel and Iron,1915—1942

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