A Union-Management Cooperative Project To Improve the Quality of Work Life

A Quality of Work Life Project involving a large international company and a large international union was jointly sponsored by the National Quality of Work Center, washington, D.C., and by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. The start-up process was one that provided information to possible project participants about the nature and scope of quality of work life projects, that solicited commitment to the project by both management and union, that began a particpative decision-making process through the use of consensus, and that ensured higher-level support and further dissemination by establishing a multi-tier committee structure with overlapping membership. The consultant selection reinforced the requirement for key person support by having the Core and Regional Committees screen potential consultants first. The interviewing sessions were difficult for the consultant because committee members did not hesitate to ask pointed questions.