Study of labour legislation relating to the use of collective bargaining in resolving labour relations problems arising from plant shutdown in the USA - discusses severance pay, compensation of wage differentials and wages loss in small and large local level labour markets; considers judicial decisions and the criteria indicating a duty to bargain; analyzes the frequency of collective agreements dealing with plant closure; notes the problem of older workers. References.

In 1982 plant closings in the United States affected approximately 1 percent of the country's manufacturing facilities and 1 percent of its manufacturing labor force. Included among the reasons cited for plant closings were low productivity, high wages, and inflexible work rules. Given the nature of the reasons for plant closings and the magnitude of the problem, collective bargaining may be the most appropriate institution to solve the problem. Collective bargaining can address the specific issues in a plant and may lead to a solution to meet the needs of both management and labor. An examination of the case law that has evolved in the formulation of judicial interpretations of the duty to bargain and the actual contract provisions negotiated in major collective bargaining agreements helps to place into perspective the role that collective bargaining can play in averting plant closings. Assuming that plant closure is a mandatory topic of bargaining, it is recommended that bargaining occur in, and only in, those instances in which there is a real probability that bargaining could lead to a solution. In no instance, however, should more than 90 days be permitted to elapse between the notice of closure and the resolution of the problem, be it a new agreement permitting continued operations or closure of the plant. (Appended to this report is a discussion of the special impact of plant closings on older adults.) (MN)

A paper reprint of the 1988 original. It is a political history that describes and analyzes the management of organized knowledge. Wheatley takes Flexner and the Carnegie Foundation of 1910 as the model. Portz (political science, Northeastern U.) combines a synthesis of the literature on urban politics and political economy with a close analysis of plant closings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Louisville, Kentucky, and Waterloo, Iowa, to illuminate the complexity of, constraints upon, and range of local government efforts to control the economic damage caused by shutdowns. Paper edition (unseen), $12.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Economic restructuring has been a notable feature of so-called mature industrial economies such as the UK and Australia in the last two decades, with deregulation, privatisation, technological change and globalisation combining to reshape such economies. Some industries have grown, while others have declined. Moreover, while overall employment in the UK and Australia has grown, many newly-created positions require skills not found in the industries shedding labour, or are in casualised and low paid occupations. Many lesser-skilled workers leaving declining industries are therefore at risk of long-term unemployment or leaving the workforce entirely. Both mental and physical health can be affected after redundancy. It is therefore crucial that the measures put in place in many domains of social policy (such as formal health policy, employment assistance, community development, housing assistance and so on) to adequately address the difficulties confronting this group. This volume takes a closer look at the impact of manufacturing - notably automotive - plant closures in the UK (Birmingham) and Australia (Adelaide) in recent years and policy responses to those closures. It attempts to tease out differences in policy response and effectiveness, and attempts to identify areas where policy could be made to work better in terms of adjusting to large scale manufacturing change and resulting job losses. In so doing, it begins, for the first time we believe, to take a comparative approach to understanding the impact of plant closures and policy responses. This book was published as a special issue of Policy Studies.

This book is about the problem of plant closure and our failure as a society to formulate an effective solution to the problem. The author asks the question, why have we as a society been able to regulate any number of economic issues, but not this one? Contents: Plant Closings' Challenge to Liberalism; Plant Closings; Understanding Liberalism; The Evolving Public/Private Relationship; Strategies for Dealing with Plant Closure; Issues in Plant Closing Legislation; The Failure of Liberalism to Adapt; Index.

Contains a collection of readings on the debate over deindustrialisation and plant closure as an inevitable consequence of continual industrial restructuring.