Workers, managers and technological change: emerging patterns of labor relations

The current era of U.S. labor relations is no exception-however, workers and managers in different industries have developed diverse arrange ments for controlling technological change and promoting their respective interests. With technological change during the post-World War II period, two patterns of labor relations have emerged. First, in industries such as newspaper printing, insurance, and air traffic control, management has gained more control of the labor process at the point of production in the shop or office. Increased unilateral managerial control has taken a variety of forms, including job deskilling; the wresting of discretion from workers over the determination of work pace and methods; and computerized supervision and monitoring of workers, worker productivity, and quality control.
Second, in other industries such as coal mining, steel, and autos, workers and managers have developed joint labor-management forums for cooperative decision making on company- and, in some cases, industry-wide issues, such as controlling technological change. These cooperative forums, or formal labor-management cooperation, include joint labor-management commit tees that address productivity, job security, technical, finance, and marketing problems; joint efforts at lobbying the government for legislation which would buffer the industry from market adversity; and worker representation on company boards of directors.