Management and Managed: Fifty Years of Crisis at ChryslerCUP Archive, 1986 M11 20 - 290 pages This book explores the relationship between management and employees under changing economic and political circumstances through a focus on the Chrysler corporation over the last fifty years. For the first time it shows how changes in chief executive, from Walter Chrysler to Lee Iacocca, in business organisation and in company performance were reflected on the shopfloor. These changes took place against the background of major swings in American politics, from the New Deal to wartime nationalism, from anti-Communism to anti-Vietnam war radicalism, from Black Power to the Reagan administration. It was these political swings that led Chrysler workers to seize the opportunities management gave them to build a shopfloor union tradition not present in Ford or General Motors. The author challenges the view of post-war America as a period of 'labour truce' in which big business consistently implemented a strategy of incorporating previously strong labour unions. He argues that workers did put up widespread shopfloor resistance to management prerogatives but that American union organisation was structurally weaker than American management. |
Contents
Management managed and control | 7 |
Unauthorized strike loss ratio Chrysler and General | 9 |
Fifty years of labor politics unions and the | 17 |
Transport equipment industry BLS recorded strikes 196178 | 34 |
Motors 194080 | 40 |
Passenger car output per manual employee Chrysler Ford and General Motors 194680 | 44 |
Chrysler production market share and profitability 192545 | 45 |
Car registrations of Chrysler GM and Ford leading | 52 |
Chrysler and General Motors manhours lost and loss rates per | 145 |
Whiteshirted strangers and black recruitment | 149 |
Chryslers US hourly employment and output of passenger cars | 160 |
19671973 | 175 |
19741982 | 189 |
Analysis of plantwide and trim department | 196 |
page 9 | 251 |
10 | 252 |
Detroit and Dodge Main | 60 |
From company picnics to Coughlin | 65 |
19361941 | 71 |
sound American unionism | 91 |
Chrysler car production and market share 193580 | 106 |
Chrysler production market share and profitability 193059 | 108 |
Trim department selected production standards | 133 |
19561959 | 135 |
Common terms and phrases
action agreed agreement allowed American argued assembly authority auto bargaining became called cars chief stewards Chrysler collection collection WRL committee continued contract Corporation demands Detroit Dodge Main DRUM early effect election employees established executive February finally fired five followed force Ford foremen four grievance Hamtramck important increased industrial interview issues January June labor relations late Liska Local major managerial March meeting militant million minutes months movement negotiations November October officers operations organization period plant political president Press problems production rates remained reported representatives resistance restraints result Reuther rules shift shopfloor standards strike structure struggle took tradition trim union United University vote wildcat workers workplace York