An Uneasy Stability: “Unpacking” the Postwar Labor-Management Accord

This article investigates the processes contributing to stable labor-management relations in the U.S. coal mining and tire manufacturing industries during the first decades after World War II. Consistent with recent research, the analysis finds persistent resistance to postwar accords in these industries. However, both the nature of this resistance and the strategies used to counter it varied. The article argues that institutional arrangements governing collective bargaining help explain these differences. By delimiting authority on both sides of the labor contract, organizational procedures supported distinctive forms of cross-class compromise and shaped the strategies of the opposition.