WORKFORCE 2000 AND ITS PROJECTED EFFECT ON LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
WORKFORCE 2000 is a report prepared by the Hudson Institute under a United States Department of Labor contract. The purpose of the report was to project the character of the American industrial environment in the early years of the next century, and to assess the probably skills requirements and supply that will characterize that environment. The WORKFORCE 2000 report was issued in 1987. In early 1994, the focus period of the report is near than is the issue date of the report. As a consequence, employing organizations, governmental agencies, and social advocacy groups are busily refining their positions on the issues involved, and developing strategies to deal with these issues.
The purpose of this paper is to review the projected effects of the findings of the WORKFORCE 2000 report on labor management relations. The essential findings of the WORKFORCE 2000 report were that (1) the demand for skilled workers will grow while the supply of such workers declines, (2) the transition of the American economy from a manufacturing orientation to a service orientation will accelerate, (3) new workforce entrants will be drawn primarily from women, racial and ethnic minority population groups, and immigrants, and (4) the American workforce will become older. Based on the findings of the WORKFORCE 2000 report, the thesis of this paper is that the increasing diversity of the American workforce will require employing organizations and employee groups such as labor unions to (1) address issues and priorities in a more cooperative procedure, and (2) become more flexible with respect to work time scheduling.
Labor Management Negotiations and A Changing Workforce
Concepts of management rights, workers rights, workers control, and so forth characterized labor management negotiating strategies in the United States through the 1980s, and, in some instances, co...