New Roles for Unions?

More baloney is written and spoken around “employee involvement” (EI) than any other issue in American business. But it’s a mistake to dismiss this movement as “just baloney.” Twenty years of experimentation and more than a decade of careful academic study of these workplace programs make it clear that democratic, participative organizations are able to outperform hierarchical, authoritarian ones. A workplace that taps the insight and knowledge of its workers will be more productive and produce better goods and services.

There’s no better guide to the progressive potential of employee involvement than this new book by the Family Bluestone. Irving, the father, is a former production grinder for t...