New Voice for the Workplace: A Proposal for an American Works Councils Act, A

Part I of this Article introduces the notion of voice and summarizes the benefits of employee voice in the workplace. Part II provides and overview of how unions amplify employee voice and chronicles the decline of the American labor movement. In Part III, the Article explores various alternative voice mechanisms with particular reference to movement-initiated employee participation programs borrowed from Japan. Part IV analyzes Section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act and discusses how that provision serves as a limitation on certain types of employee participation practices.

Part V reviews various proposals that have been suggested as a means to reform the NLRA in order to increase employee voice. Part VI of the Article then tacks in a different direction and describes the functions and growth of works councils in Europe. Finally, Part VII proposes the framework for a new American Works Councils Act and discusses the potential advantages and disadvantages of such a system.