Wagner vs Taylor: Who Are They and Why Do They Matter?
Michael Barone has an excellent article on the the role of unions in the financial woes of the Big Three automakers.. He reintroduces the term “Taylorism”, which, once you read what it means, you will recognize even if you don’t know the word.
Barone’s point – that Wagnerian (not in the musical sense) notion of an adversarial union crowbarring concessions from a Taylorism-driven management intent on wring the last scintilla of productivity out of an employee through rigorously-enforced work procedures – is well-taken. We al work in a far different environment than we did in the 1930s. Production Line employees, specifically enjoy a much different work environment than they did then, thanks largely to the Wagner Act. But it seems to me that the situation that demanded the sort of adversarial approach to negotiations the Wagner Act demanded largely do not exist anymore. Unions still act as if the Wagnerian approach is valid and that has hurt them more than they recognize.
Other Posts of Interest:
- We’re Investigating the Wrong Crooks
- The Big Three Bailout is Dead, Hallelujah!
- Paulson’s Prevarications
Category: The Economy and Your Money
