Kenneth A. Kovach

The plant closing issue arrives at the bargaining table

During the first three years of the 1980s, the United States has watched its economy undergo immense dislocations. Technological obsolescence, declining competitiveness in world markets, a severe recession, and other factors have combined to force drastic structural changes in many sectors, particularly in the heavy industries. Steel, automobiles, machine tools, textiles, and rubber have provided a strong foundation for the American economy for over half a century, but now they find their very survival is at stake. Associated with these industries’ efforts to adjust is the movement of capital in pursuit of new priorities and the consequent economic disruption associated with plant closings.

Plant closings: is the american industrial relations system failing?

Abstract A major test of Americas industrial relations system, going into the next century, is how effectively it can accommodate the anticipated sustained pattern of business closings. At present the issue of being addressed through collective bargaining. Failing an adequate resolution at the bargaining table, the Congress, the courts, and the National Labor Relations Board may find it necessary to intervene.

Manager, political activist, labour leader, statesman: all in one lifetime

Traces the career of the remarkable Asa Philip Randolph, who was many things to many people. He was a tireless crusader for African‐American rights, a strategic manager and planner, a political activist, and a labour leader. Many of the changes he brought about and many of the conditions he created in the above areas continue to shape US culture today. Highlights the contributions he made to US society.

Comparable worth: Canada legislates pay equity

Executive Overview The authors trace the history of the comparable worth theory of pay equity as it has evolved in both the United States and Canada through legislative and judicial initiatives up to last years startling legislative development in Canada. For the first time in this henisphere an aggressive comparable worth law was enacted which is applicable to both the public and private sectors. Adopted by the province of Ontario, the anatomy of this pioneering legislation is closely examined and its implications for the comparable worth movement in the U.S. are explored.

Should the Davis-Bacon act be repealed?

F ifty-two years ago Congress passed the Davis-Bacon Act in order to correct a serious labor abuse caused by two factors: a huge federal construction program and a chaotic labor market. Unscrupulous contractors were winning government contracts by employing itinerant bands of unskilled laborers and paying them exploitive wages. This widespread practice had two results: it took contracts away from local contractors, and it resulted in work of lower quality since the laborers were, at best, only marginally skilled. The Davis-Bacon Act successfully corrected this abuse. Today, however, it is questionable whether the Act is viable and effective under current economic conditions, and a move is clearly afoot to repeal the Act or to amend it radically. The champion of the Act is organized labor-primarily the Building and Construction Trades of the AFL-CIO-in tandem with the Department of Labor. Together they have joined to provide almost every word in defense of the Act. The foes of Davis-Bacon are far more diversified and include nine separate Government Accounting Office reports, a Carter administration Office of Management and Budget report, and a report by the Congressional Budget Office, to name only a few. 1 As could be expected, management organizations, such as the Associated General Contractors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are also quite vocal in their support for repeal. It is interesting to note that no professional economists have testified in favor of the Davis-Bacon Act. 2 Ultimately the fate of the Davis-Bacon Act will be decided by Congress, not necessarily as a result of a rational decision about what is right or wrong, effective or obso-