Conflict, Cooperation, and the Global Auto Factory

Abstract

Since 1973, the American automobile industry has experienced a shift toward more cooperative labor relations. Many observers saw the 1984 contract between General Motors (GM) and the United Auto Workers as a pathbreaking agreement marking the beginning of a new era of cooperation. Historically, the legacy of labor relations in the auto industry has been one of conflict, from the time of bloody violence over the right to unionize in the late 1930s to the protracted standoff between workers and management over issues of workplace control at Lords town in 1972. In contrast, since the initiation of a Quality of Worklife program at GM in 1973, there have been an increasing number of cooperative arrangements to address both new issues and reemerging issues. The central provision of the 1984 GM-UAW pact—a “job bank” providing for placement of workers displaced by new technology and other causes—is one of the most noteworthy examples. However, labor relations in the auto industry are still characterized by considerable conflict, as the 1984 pact was reached only after corporate threats and a strike by the UAW. The goal of this essay is to explain the shift toward more cooperative labor relations in the auto industry, with a special focus on the role of conflict itself. The nature of this cooperation will also be examined in terms of the relative power of labor and management to pursue contradictory interests.