Industrial Relations Systems

"Dunlop was one of the pioneers who created the labour relations field. He taught at Harvard, but he wasn’t just an academician; he had a long history of advising US presidents, dating back to Roosevelt. He was Secretary of Labor under Gerald Ford, during a time when Republicans didn’t reflexively view unions as villains, but instead recognised them as a legitimate part of our economic and political system. Dunlop was an arbitrator and mediator. He was always trying to solve problems – help management solve problems, help unions solve problems, help workers solve problems. The book builds a theory from his dealings with unions and management over many years. His view was that there was almost always some right on the labour side and some right on the management side. He taught us that the best way for a firm to operate is for rational representatives of management and labour to sit down, look at the evidence and resolve real problems. The book also makes the point that labour decisions involve not only workers and the management of the firm, but also the government. He recognised that workplaces would always be fraught with human problems, and that workers would always form groups to defend their interests. Workplaces are social institutions, so workers and management do not operate as if it was a bourse or market where people buy or sell inanimate goods. If they read Dunlop, those who want to restrict collective bargaining and who think that unions shouldn’t be a part of this country will realise that, no matter what they do, there are always going to be worker organisations."