LESSONS OF TRIPARTISM

Dispute Resolution Journal, Aug-Oct 2005 by Fazzi, Cindy

LESSONS OF TRIPARTISM The New Structure of Labor Relations: Tripartism and Decentralization. Edited by Harry C. Katz, Wonduck Lee, andjoohee Lee. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, a Cornell University Press imprint (www.cornellpress.cornell.edu), 2004. Hardcover. 272 pages. $39.95.

Tripartism-the national-level interaction among representatives of labor, management and government-is practically nonexistent in the United States, but it's alive and well elsewhere. This book, a compilation of articles by 12 authors from eight countries, aims to prove that tripartite partnership is still relevant.

Tripartism is flourishing in Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany. It has been used with limited success in South Korea but is on the decline in Japan and Australia. It would behoove students and researchers of international labor relations to read this book because it devotes considerable discussion about those countries' experiences with tripartism.

For most readers, however, the key question is this: Historically, national tripartite relations have never been a big part of American labor relations, writes Harry Katz, one of the book's editors. A chapter focusing on the United States shows that tripartism did not grow roots in this country because of the prevalence of decentralized collective bargaining, a relatively small union sector, and strong market-oriented traditions. Tripartite activities only surfaced during the war periods and reform eras.

Golden Era

In 1880, 1902 and 1915, various national investigative commissions issued reports that were used for New Deal labor legislation in the 1930s. During the First and second World Wars, war labor boards were created to promote peace among workers and to create wage stability.

Despite the success of these boards, they were unable to sustain their mission after the wars. Following the end of World War II, President Truman called for labor and management to continue cooperation achieved during the war. But efforts to reach an accord broke down over labor's demand for a commitment to union security and management's demand for a limit on the scope of labor's influence over employment issues.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, there were unsuccessful attempts to establish tripartite advisory committees. In 1994, the Dunlop Commission (named after former Labor secretary John Dunlop who led the group) issued two reports: a fact-finding study reviewing the state of labor-management relations, and a final report recommending reform. But neither labor nor the business community supported the proposal for reform.

Regional Partnerships

While national tripartism languished, another form of cooperation expanded regional partnerships. According to Katz, "Coordination of labor market activities came ... through the expansion of regional training partnerships, efforts at crossnational unionism, and attempts by multinational corporations to develop more regional and global human resource and industrial relations strategies and structures. He explains that these regional partnerships have become a vehicle for labor, management, and government to interact at the state and local level.

The book does not offer any predictions about the future of tripartism in this country or elsewhere. "The research presented in this volume suggests that the use of social dialogue in the future will be determined by whether governments have the political will, employers the inclination, and unions the strength to support this variety of capitalism," the editors write.

Although this book is not about alternative dispute resolution, it's an important reference for ADR practitioners in the labor-management sector and students and researchers of labor relations.