Book Description

The net effect on employment of structural changes now occurring in the United States will be determined by the actions that government, management, and labor take to create and support the conditions for new opportunity and to encourage people to move from old to new work. Many of the measures that need to be taken to ensure profitability involve changes in the type of work done and the number of people employed. Labor adjustment policies have to be factored into any decision taken by management to improve competitive position. The six crucial elements around which adjustment policies in the private sector should be structured are: (1) communication between management and labor regarding competitive realities, steps needed to improve market position, and rewards employees can expect; (2) employee involvement at the work level in the design and implementation of productivity improvements; (3) flexible total compensation that links wages and benefits to profitability; (4) advance notification to employees, unions, and the community of decisions affecting jobs; (5) reorientation of employee benefits so that employees moving between firms do not lose them; and (6) support programs that allow workers to shift to new opportunities. The critical elements around which public sector adjustment policies should be structured are incentives to reemployment, coordination of public and private resources, commitment to job training programs, promotion of economic development strategies, and educational reform to emphasize the skills and attitudes needed to prepare students for higher-skilled, technology-based jobs. (The document contains 164 references.) (CML)