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7 - “Industrial Democracy” in the United States, Past and Present

from Part II - History, Politics, and Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

By
Wilma B. Liebman
Edited by
Angela B. Cornell  and
Mark Barenberg
Angela B. Cornell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Mark Barenberg
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

This chapter first scans the historical context of the “labor question” in the United States and the radically diverse interpretations and experimentation with “industrial democracy,” widely seen as the answer.Second, it outlines how industrial democracy ultimately came to have meaning through collective bargaining, with the enactment of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, and how optimism about the law’s promise and achievements turned into disenchantment. Third, the essay sketches the glimmerings of industrial democracy’s revival, with the labor question’s reemergence.Creative experimentation is underway, older notions are being reimagined, collective action is on the rise, and the threat posed by worker’s diminished bargaining power is a matter of public debate.

Keywords

labor questionNew Dealindustrial democracyNational Labor Relations BoardLabor Republicansworker ownershipAmerican Federation of Laborprogressivescollective bargainingnon-union representationWorld War Ishop committeesworks councilswelfare capitalismcompany unionsWagner Act
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy , pp. 117 - 126
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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