Interviews with female employees of a clothing company moving to lean production and teamwork indicate that Taylorism is being reinvented in the contemporary workplace. Restructuring produces higher productivity but greater work pressures and lower wages, despite rhetoric about autonomy, job satisfaction, and workplace democracy. (Contains 57…

Surveys in five automobile plants in Canada and the United Kingdom (n=2,600+) indicated that implementation of lean production methods has been uneven across companies and countries and is not associated with greater employee involvement or control. Variations may reflect company-specific responses to the pressures of international competition.…

A case study of Canada's telecommunications industry found the union engaged in education and research that helped build the potential for workplace democracy. However, scarce resources for these activities and management concerns about worker empowerment constrained progressive change. (SK)

This study examines affective commitment to employing and client organizations among long-term contracted employees, a new and growing employment classification. Drawing on organizational commitment and social exchange literatures, we propose two categories of antecedents of employee commitment to client organizations. We tested our hypotheses…

In a Delphi study of the strength of the American Federation of Government Employees union at a U.S. government hospital, two rounds of questionnaires were sent to 33 union officials, management officials, and nonofficials. Strong union leadership and management deficiencies in employee relations emerged as the primary factors in the effectiveness…

Assessment of West German and Japanese systems of worker participation and of attempts to adapt these models to the United States do not provide conclusive evidence that these methods improve productivity and job satisfaction. (SK)

Develops and tests a choice model of National Labor Relations Board members in selected unfair labor practice cases over the 1954-77 period. Evidence supports the popular belief that Board decisions are heavily dependent upon shifting political winds. (Author/JOW)

Includes "Labor Transnationalism?" (Cornfield); "Globalization and International Labor Organizing" (Boswell, Stevis); "Trade Unions and European Integration" (Hyman); "Trade Policy and Southern Economy" (Margo, Griffin); "Institutionalization of the Sociology of Work in Latin America" (Abramo et…

From 1992 to 1996, the Supreme Court decided a number of cases on labor law and employment law. Case topics included labor relations, pensions and benefits, employment discrimination, and privacy, free speech, and other issues in public sector employment. (JOW)

Negotiations are slated for one-third of workers covered by major agreements. Those scheduled for bargaining are almost evenly split between state and local government and private industry. (Author)

Considers industrial relations policies and practices of stevedore firms in the West Coast longshore industry in terms of the social worker, worker-resource, and institutional theories. Subsidiary firms were more lenient in contract interpretation and more competitive in recruitment, supporting the worker-resource theory. Includes 2 tables and 33…

The authors report on their initial findings from their major work investigating the changing nature of personnel management during the recession. They point to the key importance of employee relations for the personnel function. They discuss top management influence, the use of specialized personnel skills, computers, consultants, and changes in…

Indicates support for the Theory "Y" assumption that workers care about their jobs and the organization's needs. Determines four significant statements made by the employees regarding company profits, policies and procedures, working conditions, and benefits. Underscores the usefulness of employee feedback and verifies company…

Determines the level of union activity in housing offices in the southeast region of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I). Focuses on interest in unions by housing employees, potential for change, factors likely to foster union activity, and types of institutions most likely to be unionized. (ABB)

Examined interpersonal conflict mode profiles of 202 professional employees from community mental health centers in Alabama and questioned executive directors of the 23 centers on situational aspects related to interpersonal conflict. Results confirmed that functionality of conflict behavior must be judged with respect to outcomes produced from…