Democratic producersm: enlisting American for workplace flexibility
Employee participation in management is a common element of on-going industrial relatons reforms. Current liberal productivist models of reform focus workplace co-operation between workers and managers and on competition among plants. Although there are serious pitfalls for unions on co-operation, American unious have a long history of interest in producerist schemes of labour participation. This essay argues that the actual character of industrial relations and whether or not the new industrial relations serves the interests of union members depends in part on the ability of unions to develo a new producerist vision that politically links workers' interests at work the interests of society in a productive economy.