The "at-will" rule in American law is defined as the right of a private sector employer to dismiss an employee without a contract for virtually any reason. The rule has thrived since the nineteenth century and is still a major factor in the employer-employee relationship. However, recent court decisions have fashioned common law…

Designed to help secondary school students understand employment practices and prepare for future job interviews, this 5-day unit focuses on the interplay among businesses, employees, and the government in determining fair hiring practices. Two sections include a teacher's guide and a student activity packet. Following an overview of activities…

In 1982 plant closings in the United States affected approximately 1 percent of the country's manufacturing facilities and 1 percent of its manufacturing labor force. Included among the reasons cited for plant closings were low productivity, high wages, and inflexible work rules. Given the nature of the reasons for plant closings and the magnitude…

Researchers explored the relationships between the great working class communities and the industries they sustained and were sustained by in terms of production, storage, and transmission of skills. First, the ethnographic literature on industrial workplaces and the working class communities associated with them was reviewed. Next, lengthy…

This book documents the range of training programs that are being established by employers and unions; assesses porgram functioning and results; and offers insights for practitioners, scholars, and policy makers. An introduction (Ferman et al.) provides a general framework for thinking about union-management training programs and presents an…

Economic, social, and demographic changes in the last 30 years have resulted in a massive restructuring of the American work force. Consequently, increasing numbers of employees can be expected to experience difficulties balancing family-and-work concerns. There is no consensus in the United States today regarding the responsibility for helping…

This volume contains technical and supporting materials that supplement Volume I, which describes upward mobility programs for disadvantaged and dislocated workers in the service sector. Appendix A is a detailed description of the project methodology, including data collection methods and information on data compilation, processing, and analysis.…

One of a series of secondary level units on business issues, this packet focuses on the relationship between business and young employees. The packet contains a teacher's guide and a student activity section. Within the teacher's guide, an overview of activities, objectives, and time frame precedes summaries of five daily lesson plans. Also…

A study examined the relationship between high-performance workplace practices and the performance of plants in the following manufacturing industries: steel, apparel, and medical electronic instruments and imaging. The multilevel research methodology combined the following data collection activities: (1) site visits; (2) collection of plant…