Worker Leadership - 9780262019637

How can American manufacturing recapture its former dominance in the globalizedindustrial economy? In Worker Leadership, Fred Stahl proposes a strategy to boostenterprise productivity and restore America's industrial power. Stahl outlines a revolutionarytransformation of industrial culture that offers workers real control of production operations andmanufacturing processes (as well as a monetary share of the savings from productivity gains). Stahldevelops this new Theory of Worker Productivity into a strategy of Worker Leadership, with concrete,real-world examples. Combining some of the methods of lean manufacturing made famous by Toyota withgenuine worker empowerment unlike anything at Toyota, Worker Leadership creates highly productivejobs loaded with responsibility and authority. Workers, Stahl writes, love these jobs preciselybecause of the opportunities to be creative and productive. Worker Leadership also offers importantbenefits for organized labor. It promotes the vitality and growth of labor unions through a sharedresponsibility with management for growth and profitability.

Stahl's approach wasinspired by changes implemented at John Deere factories by a general manager named Dick Kleine.Stahl uses the story of Kleine's transformation of the Deere factories to construct a checklist ofessential conditions for Worker Leadership. He also discusses competition with China and South Koreaand tells the story of production that GE recently "reshored" from China to the UnitedStates. Stahl considers the potential for applying Worker Leadership beyond manufacturing, providesa brief history of manufacturing, and even reveals the dark side of Toyota's system that opensanother competitive opportunity for America. Worker Leadership offers a blueprintfor global competitive advantage that should be read by anyone concerned about America's currentproductivity paralysis.