WORKFORCE 2000 AND ITS PROJECTED EFFECT ON LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
WORKFORCE 2000 is a report based on 1984 data that was released in June 1987 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 probable skills requirements and supply that will characterize that environment.
The purpose of this paper is to review the projected effects of the findings of the WORKFORCE 2000 report on labor management relations. The implication of the WORKFORCE 2000 report is that, because, the American workforce by the early years of the next century will become older with higher proportions of female, minority group, immigrant, and handicapped (both physically and mentally) persons, the American corporation will become a sort of auxiliary social service agency educating, re educating, and accommodating workers who by an large were not being hired in 1984 when the report was prepared. Emanating from this implication is an assumption that, by the year 2000, labor management relations in the United States will become less adversarial in character, with the two parties cooperating while attempting to address the requirements of a far more diverse American workforce. The reality of WORKFORCE 2000, however, is likely to be far different than the implications and assumptions.
In early 1994, the focus period of the WORKFORCE 2000 report is nearer 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. One might reasonably ask why, almost seven years subsequent to the issuance of the WORKFORCE 2000 report, employers and these other groups are refining their positions and strategies. ...