What Workers Want

How would a typical American workplace be structured if the employees could design it? According to the authors of this volume, it would be an organization jointly run by employees and their supervisors, one where disputes between labour and managment would be resolved through independent arbitration. Their text, based on an extensive workplace survey, provides an account of employees' attitudes about participation, representation and regulation at work. More than anything, the authors found that workers wanted their voices to be heard, desiring a greater role in the workplace, but that they doubted management's willingness to share power. Many had strong ideas about how their involvement would improve not just their lot, but but also their company's fortunes. Many non-union workers favoured the formation of unions and virtually all union workers strongly supported their union. They supported the creation of labour-management committes and preferred co-operative relations with supervisors. The authors also report on the views of supervisors, who confirm their wish to retain exclusive authority to make decisions but demonstrate a willingness to listen to labour's concerns.
Freeman and Rogers present their findings within a broader picture of the evolving structure of labour and management in the USA. Their detailed description of their survey - how it was constructed and conducted - provides a model for workplace research. The results allow the voices of workers to be heard on matters affecting profoundly their jobs, their lives and the American economy.