Changing forms of workplace representation: the United States Steel Corporation, 1933‐1937 Available to Purchase

Since the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act of 1935, American labor law has prohibited certain forms of workplace organization in nonunion firms. Congress routinely considers legislation to overturn that prohibition and allow employers more flexibility in creating workplace teams. Systems of employee representation were a prominent feature in American firms after World War I, and in the early 1930s, employers used them extensively as a union substitution technique. At United States Steel, ironically, employee representation provided the means for unionization of the firm. The company’s experience offers insight in the contemporary debate.