The New Structure of Labor Relations - by Harry C Katz & Wonduck Lee & Joohee Lee (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- Tripartism--the national-level interaction among representatives of labor, management, and government--occurs infrequently in the United States.
- About the Author: Harry C. Katz is Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where he is Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining.
- 280 Pages
- Political Science, Labor & Industrial Relations
Description
About the Book
Contributors from eight industrialized countries examine the changing nature of labor-management relations, with a particular focus on the role of tripartism and the decentralization of collective bargaining.
Book Synopsis
Tripartism--the national-level interaction among representatives of labor, management, and government--occurs infrequently in the United States. Based on the U.S. experience, then, such interactions might seem irrelevant to economic performance and policymaking. The essays in this volume reveal the falsity of that assumption.
Contributors from eight industrialized countries (Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, and the United States) examine the changing nature of labor-management relations, with a particular focus on the role of tripartism and the decentralization of collective bargaining. Although nonexistent in the United States and on the decline in Japan and Australia, tripartism flourishes in Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands, expanding beyond traditional corporatist partners to include women's organizations, senior citizens, and other representatives of "civic society." The vibrancy of the coordinating mechanisms that help shape employment conditions and labor policy contradicts the traditional belief that an overpowering unilateral decentralizing shift is underway in labor-management interactions. The contributors show that these mechanisms are in fact increasing in the face of intensified pressures, promoting greater flexibility in work organization and working time.
Review Quotes
"The authors have produced a masterful survey of 'organized decentralisation' in employment relations on four continents. They challenge the conventional wisdom that national level negotiations are on the decline everywhere, and show that tripartite dialogue now embraces a wider, and subtler, agenda of work-related issues than in the past. Their thesis imparts new vigour to the 'varieties of capitalism' debate by showing the continued vitality of multi-employer-union negotiations, and how these can facilitate adjustment at the economy and enterprise levels."
--David Marsden, Professor of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics"This interesting book covers an important topic, namely the extent to which a renaissance of tripartite policymaking and centralized bargaining is occurring in various parts of the world. Unlike the books presently available on the emergence of social pacts in various countries, it goes beyond coverage of European countries. In particular, the discussion of Korea shows a broadening trend toward tripartite bargaining."
--Lucio Baccaro, International Labour OrganizationAbout the Author
Harry C. Katz is Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where he is Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining. He is the author of several books and the editor of Telecommunications: Restructuring Work and Employment Relations Worldwide, also from Cornell. Wonduck Lee is President of the Korea Labor Institute. Joohee Lee is a Research Fellow at the Korea Labor Institute.