RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN US INDUSTRIAL-RELATIONS

The persistence of economic pressures that first challenged American i ndustry in the 1970s continues to reshape US industrial relations. In an effort to maintain their competitiveness, US firms have developed a panoply of strategies ranging from confrontation and labour control t o collaboration and employee empowerment. This essay reviews evidence relating to the development and diffusion of these alternative strateg ies and their implications for long-term US competitiveness. In this c ontext, the recent work of Commission on the Future of Worker-Manageme nt Relations is discussed as well as a number of public policy options intended to facilitate the implementation of high value-added product ion systems. The essay concludes with a discussion of the implications of recent trends for industrial relations research.