Sectoral levelling funds are an arrangement aimed at alleviating a well-known theoretical problem of underinvestment in worker training because of free-rider behaviour of firms. In the Netherlands, collective agreements require firms to participate in such funds in a number of sectors. Using a comprehensive dataset of Dutch firms, we attempt to…

In this article, the intention is to examine the development of the trade union approach to working time, assess its successes and failures, and seek an understanding of the movement toward reduced working time. From that assessment, it is argued that prevailing strategies are unlikely to bear dividends in terms of their own objectives--the…

After describing the history of Ford Motor Company's relationship with workers from the inception of the assembly line through recent years, the author describes results of the 1979 National Joint Committee on Employee Involvement and 1982 labor negotiations, which resulted in retraining projects, tuition assistance, and career counseling and…

A study assessed the effects of the 1978 Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) amendments. While the major focus of the study was on changes in the public service employment (PSE) programs, other areas were examined, including aspects of CETA management, service delivery systems, the role of organized labor, and job placement. The study…

Discusses steps employers can take to prevent female clerical workers from wanting to join labor unions. These steps include reviewing the company's employment practices to ensure compliance on sex fairness issues; reviewing pay practices; reviewing the company's position regarding sexual harassment; reviewing benefits and personnel policies; and…

In an effort to examine the role of international and local nonreferral unions in advancing the job status of minorities and women, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) conducted a national survey of unions and employers and completed a legal analysis of the duty of unions to represent their members fairly. Among the key findings of…

A study identified United States Department of Labor efforts to expand apprenticeship to new occupations and explained impediments to establishing apprenticeship programs in fields not traditionally apprenticed (e.g., high technology and biotechnology). Labor had not systematically identified new occupations suitable for apprenticeship programs…

The Labor Education Achievement Program (LEAP) provided workplace literacy services to 664 union workers in 39 classes at worksites, union halls, and other locations. Students' average age was nearly 40. All had attended some public school; 91 percent had some high school education. Students reported various reasons for enrollment; 90.6 percent…

California's school-to-career (STC) efforts were examined in a statewide evaluation study that was initiated in December 2000 and scheduled for completion by June 2002. The study's first phase was assessed in an interim report that focused on the following major activities: (1) development of a white paper describing the STC's national and state…