An exploratory study of two-tier labor contracts in the retail food industry.

摘要

Two-tier labor contracts are those concessionary collective bargaining agreements in which employees hired after a specific date are treated differently from employees hired earlier. Newspapers and magazines have recounted the adoption of these contracts and speculated about the potential outcomes and several scholarly articles have focused on specific elements of two-tier contracts, but no comprehensive study of the topic had been conducted.; This exploratory study of the characteristics and performance of two-tier labor contracts in a single industry was designed to provide comprehensive information about the nature of two-tier contracts, the forces precipitating their enactment, and the behavioral and economic consequences of their adoption. The entire population of large-unit collective bargaining agreements in the retail food industry on file at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Collective Bargaining File was analyzed to determine the incidence of two-tier provisions and the nature of those provisions. After this content analysis, elite interviews were conducted to explore the views of management representatives, labor leaders, and neutral parties.; It was found that two-tier labor provisions dominate collective bargaining agreements in the retail food industry. More than 95 percent of all large-unit labor contracts in the industry contain tiers in wages, benefits, or work rules; the majority of these tier provisions are permanent. Eighty-two percent of the contracts examined contained multiple tiers.; The elite interviews indicated that innovations in wholesale distribution patterns, social changes that have prompted diversification in retail food merchandising, and increasing expansion on nonunion competition have put pressure upon retail food company profits. In the belief that labor costs represent the primary variable, companies have sought collective bargaining concessions. The two-tier provisions achieved are restructuring wages in the industry and contributing to economic goals. Legal challenges to two-tier contracts do not appear viable. As equity theory would predict, turnover has increased dramatically.