This article examines the relationship between skill acquisition and the constitution of economic selfhood in Trinidad. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among garment workers in a context of industrial decline, I show how their formal, informal, and illicit means of acquiring sewing skills are inextricably linked to the fragmented and unstable…

The philosophy and workability of the concept of worker participation in management decisions is discussed in the context of British society. It is recommended that four interests be represented in any kind of Workers' Council: management, workers, shareholders, and consumers. (AG)

Quality Circle (QC) and Quality of Working Life (QWL) in the United States are similar in that both stress participative decision making, preserve management's prerogative to have the final say, and are voluntary. QC and QWL programs differ, however, in that labor unions are more involved in QWLs; QCs deal only with technical problems related to…

A primary shortcoming of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is that it provides the employer with too many phases of postponement of responsibility. However, positive administrative action has included organized labor's entry into all levels of job safety and health activities. (MW)

A combination of crises and innovative attempts to manage them that began in 1980 transformed the relationship between Xerox Corporation and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, which represents most of Xerox's manufacturing employees. Eight pivotal episodes were largely responsible for the transformation. The first was a joint…

This report presents findings of a commission that held hearings and examined quantitative and qualitative evidence on the current state of worker-management relations in the United States. Chapter I identifies those facts about the changing economic and social environment that bear directly on the mission statement of the commission (to ensure…

The long-term cost savings in keeping a plant really safe are very high indeed; so are those in cafeteria subsidies or apprenticeship programs. The author calls for a long-sighted view of personnel welfare expenditures as an investment in people. (Author/AJ)

Based on the findings of the Management Employee Relations in Corrections (MERIC) project, this management guide for correctional administrators is designed to facilitate enlightened and responsible management within the context of public sector labor relations. The introduction to the guide describes the MERIC study and discusses trends in state…

This report reviews the changing role of labor unions in the United States today and proposes actions to increase union membership and strength in the future. The report is organized in 10 sections. The first section describes changes in the work force, especially during the 1960s and 1970s. It is followed by sections describing (1) the failure of…

A reasonable definition of exploitation is an unjust or improper use of another person for one's own profit or advantage. Exploitation predates the age of industry; it is not the sole province of industry and business. Worker responses to exploitation in the evolving industrial democracy have taken the form of labor unions, political clubs, credit…

An experiment with variable work hours in one department of a large company was so successful that it has become standard procedure in various corporate areas, both staff and line. The result? Increased production, fewer errors, improved employee morale, and a significant reduction in lateness and absenteeism. (Author)

The paper examines the potential usefulness of two concepts (autonomy and negotiation) which have been developed to analyze "informal behavior", in the context of two everyday features of life in an electrical components workshop: continuing argument about the use of radios and the larger issue of the negotiation of time. (Author/AJ)

This paper outlines the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (sometimes referred to as the Wage-Hour Law) that establishes a minimum wage, subminimum wage, training wage overtime pay, and recordkeeping requirements. The following topics are addressed: (1) covered employment; (2) exemptions; (3) hours worked; (4) board, lodging, and other…

While the building and printing industries flourished in pre-Civil War Columbus, manufacturing languished. The manufacturing base grew and diversified from 1820 to 1850. Few unions emerged, and those that did seldom lasted long. During the Civil War business and manufacturing increased to serve the camps and prisons established in Columbus. When…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency created in 1935 by Congress to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the basic law governing relations between labor unions and business enterprises engaged in operations affecting interstate commerce. In its statutory assignment, the NLRB has two principal…