When deciding how to compete in the new global economy, employers can opt for "low-road" strategies such as low wages and no job security. Alternatively, they can choose the "high road" and compete by offering quality goods and services, innovation, and value. Fourteen successful "high-road" partnerships were examined to identify elements likely to lead to successful partnerships, barriers to effectiveness, and tools to help surmount them. The individual partnerships focused on different sectors and involved different stakeholder groups, including unions, educators, employers, community organizations, and government. However, the activities/services provided by the partnerships all fell into the following categories: (1) setting workplace, job, and/or investment standards; (2) workforce development; (3) business services (joint-labor management programs assisting employers with modernization and/or providing financial or similar services); and (4) people services (building good jobs and career paths while helping employers compete and promoting fairer access to economic opportunity). At least initially, partnerships tended to be sectoral or regional. The challenges faced by partnerships typically involved strategic planning and strategic research, building an organization, funding sources, communicating and sharing knowledge, building and strengthening coalitions, and ongoing research. Forty-seven action steps to overcome these challenges were identified. (Profiles of the case study partnerships are appended.) (MN)