Chapter Thirteen

Union-Management Cooperation

Many labor relations practices are adversarial—organizing, bargaining over wages, disputing contract interpretations, and the like. But many argue that both unions and managements can achieve improved outcomes through cooperation. The catalyst for cooperation is often the financial exigency of the employer and the specter of potentially large job losses.

This chapter explores variations in union-management cooperation and their effects, including interest-based bargaining, community-based labor-management committees, employee involvement programs, gainsharing, and work and organization redesign. In reading this chapter, consider the following questions:

1. How are cooperative problem-solving methods different from traditional bargaining?
2. Can a cooperation program violate labor laws?
3. What are some results of cooperative programs? Are they equally likely to lead to successes for both unions and managements?
4. What types of cooperation programs are in current use by employers and unions?
5. Are union-management cooperation programs sustainable in the long run?