LABOR UNION PROGRAMS TO REDUCE OR PREVENT OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN THE UNITED-STATES

In the United States, most efforts to reduce occupational stress conti nue to focus primarily on personal stress management. However, there h as been a growing awareness that personal coping techniques have limit ed effectiveness and that sources of stress in the work environment ne ed to be altered. Research on workplace sources of stress has been spu rred and guided by Karasek's ''job strain'' or ''job demands-control'' model, and the University of Michigan model of the stress process. In addition, a model of occupational stress interventions developed by K arasek provides a useful framework for stress prevention activities. U .S. labor unions have undertaken a variety of activities at air stages of the stress process described by this stress intervention model to reduce or prevent the health hazards associated with occupational stre ss. These programs and strategies include employee assistance programs , educational programs, stress surveys, medical studies, stress commit tees, collective bargaining, organizing and public awareness, and lobb ying and political action. These programs are described and analyzed i n relation to models of occupational stress, as well as to the economi c context faced by labor unions today, and continuing obstacles to wor k environment reform.