Karen S. Koziara

Development of Relocation Allowances as Manpower Policy

Discusses how the concept of relocation allowances has developed in the United States and explains the objectives and limitations of relocation allowances as a method for increasing labor mobility. Foreign use of relocation allowances; Problems in developing manpower policy including relocation allowances; Costs of relocation. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)

The Effect of Hospital Bargaining Unit Structure on Industrial Relations Outcomes

Since the passage of the 1974 Health Care Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act, an implicit premise of public policy has been that multiple bargaining units in hospitals would lead to an increased incidence of wage leapfrogging, jurisdictional disputes, and strikes. This examination of two sets of hospitals in 1988, which had bargaining units ranging in number from zero to ten, finds little support for these assumed relationships. Only hospitals with five or six units had wage settlements that were higher than in hospitals with one unit, and then only for two of six occupations studied. Only hospitals with three or four units had more work assignment disputes than hospitals with one unit. Hospitals with four, six, or seven units averaged one more strike than hospitals with one unit over the 1980–88 period, but strikes per contract were higher only for hospitals with six units.

Unit determination: National Labor Relations Board rule making in the health care industry

This article reviews the events leading up to the National Labor Relations Boards (NLRB) historic decision to engage in substantive rule making over appropriate bargaining units in the health care industry. It describes the rule-making process and outcomes, and the reaction of hospital unions and management to the rules. Finally, the potential for the use of rule making for other issues facing the NLRB is analyzed. This analysis uses a cost/benefit framework from the agencys perspective to predict the likelihood of future rule making. The article concludes that rule making is sufficiently costly to make extensive use in other situations unlikely.

Book Review: Labor-Management Relations: Racial Conflict and Negotiations: Perspectives and First Case StudiesRacial Conflict and Negotiations: Perspectives and First Case Studies. Edited by ChalmersW. Ellison and CormickGerald W., Ann Arbor, Mich.: Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan, 1971. viii, 246 pp.

unfortunately not possible with the formula adopted in this work, in which the ephemeral tends to obscure the longer term message. This is not to say there are no good things in this volume. The chapter contributions of the editors are, as individual pieces, of high quality; the pieces by George Bain and Derek Robinson (on white-collar unionism and labor markets, respectively) reflect their considerable expertise in these fields, and there is something of lasting value in the trade union views on employee participation and productivity. On the purely practical level, H. J. Hebdens account of Massey-Fergusons approach to personnel strategy provides some interesting insights that could serve as a guide for other practitioners. Despite these good points, the collection as a whole remains off-target. The American reader may, however, find it of interest in presenting a cross-sectional view of British industrial relations as it began its transition to a new stage of development, the final shape of which is still far from clear.