Calendar No. 717

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1020

[Report No. 103–401]

A BILL

To promote economic growth and job creation in

O

tices.seminating information on best workplace pracworkplace practices and by identifying and disadvanced workplace technologies and advancedment in the development and implementation ofthe United States by facilitating worker involveCTOBER 5 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 717

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1020

[Report No. 103–401]

To promote economic growth and job creation in the United States by facilitating worker involvement in the development and implementation of

advanced workplace technologies and advanced workplace practices and

by identifying and disseminating information on best workplace practices.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 25 (legislative day, APRIL 19), 1993

Mr. WOFFORD (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Labor and Human Resources

OCTOBER 5 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Reported by Mr. KENNEDY, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To promote economic growth and job creation in the United

States by facilitating worker involvement in the development and implementation of advanced workplace technologies and advanced workplace practices and by identifying and disseminating information on best workplace

practices.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workers Technology

5 Skill Development Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds and declares the following:

8 (1) In an increasingly competitive world econ9 omy, the companies and nations which lead in the

10 rapid development, commercialization, and applica11 tion of new technologies, and in the competitively

12 priced, high-quality production of goods and serv13 ices, will lead in economic growth, employment, and

14 high living standards.

15 (2) While the United States remains the world

16 leader in science and invention, it has not done as

17 well as it should in rapidly making the transition

18 from the research laboratory to high-quality, com19 petitively priced production of goods and services.

20 This lag and the unprecedented competitive chal21 lenge that the Nation has faced from abroad have

22 contributed to a drop in real wages and living stand23 ards.

24 (3) Companies which are successfully competi25 tive in the rapid development, commercialization, ap-
3

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1 plication and implementation of new technologies

2 recognize that worker participation and labor-man3 agement cooperation in the deployment, application

4 and implementation of new workplace technologies

5 make an important and significant contribution to

6 competitively-priced, high-quality production of

7 goods and services and in maintaining and improv8 ing real wages for workers.

9 (4) The Federal Government has an important

10 role in encouraging and augmenting private sector

11 activities relating to the development, application,

12 manufacture and deployment of new technologies.

13 That role should be to—

14 (A) support and cooperate with such ef15 forts;

16 (B) work with private companies, the

17 states, labor organizations and other worker or18 ganizations, and nonprofit institutions and in19 stitutions of higher education to ensure that the

20 development, application, production, and im21 plementation of new technologies is consistent

22 with the improvement of workers’ skills, wages

23 and working conditions, and a healthy environ24 ment;
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1 (C) encourage worker participation in the

2 development, commercialization, evaluation, se3 lection, application and implementation of new

4 technologies in the workplace; and

5 (D) promote the use and integration of

6 technologies in the workplace as a mechanism

7 to enhance workers’ skills.

8 (5) In working with the private sector to pro9 mote the technological leadership and economic

10 growth of the United States, the Federal Govern11 ment has a responsibility to ensure that Federal

12 technology programs help make the United States

13 remain competitive while maintaining and improving

14 living standards and creating and retaining secure

15 domestic jobs in economically stable communities in

16 the United States.

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

18 The purpose of this Act is to—

19 (1) improve the ability of workers, labor organi20 zations and worker organizations to recognize, de21 velop, assess, and improve strategies for successfully

22 integrating workers into the process of evaluating,

23 selecting and implementing new and advanced work24 place technologies, workplace practices and forms of

25 work organization; and
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1 (2) develop resources within labor organiza2 tions, educational institutions and other nonprofit

3 organizations which will assist workers, labor organi4 zations and worker organizations in developing the

5 expertise necessary for effective participation with

6 employers in the development of strategies and pro7 grams for the successful evaluation, selection and

8 implementation of new and advanced workplace

9 technologies and advanced workplace practices and

10 forms of work organization through the provision of

11 a range of education, training and related services.

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

13 As used in this Act—

14 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart15 ment of Labor;

16 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

17 of Labor;

18 (3) the term ‘‘worker organization’’ means an

19 organization composed of nonsupervisory and

20 nonmanagerial workers whose representatives are

21 democratically selected by workers;

22 (4) the term ‘‘advanced workplace technologies’’

23 including—

24 (A) equipment, systems and process de25 signed to enhance quality, productivity, flexibil-
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1 ity, environmental quality, and energy efficiency

2 while enhancing worker skills and autonomy in

3 the workplace; and

4 (B) new technologies such as skill-based,

5 skill-enhancing computer-, network-, and

6 microprocessor-based production systems; work7 er-friendly software control and information

8 systems; worker-operated rapid communications

9 systems linking workplaces, customers and sup10 pliers; remote sensor and operations control

11 systems allowing operators to apply their knowl12 edge and judgment to complex production ac13 tivities;

14 (5) the term ‘‘advanced workplace practices’’

15 means innovations in high-skill, high-performance

16 workplace systems that build on worker participation

17 in the evaluation, selection, development and imple18 mentation of new and advanced workplace tech19 nologies and forms of work organization, including

20 worker participation in cross-functional teams for

21 concurrent engineering of new products and produc22 tion systems; participative assessment and develop23 ment of strategies to enhance competitiveness and

24 advancements in technology, work organization job

25 design and skills; commitment to continuous learn-
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1 ing and skill upgrading; multi-skilling; total quality

2 and continuous improvement programs based on a

3 partnership between workers and management; and

4 design of production systems that maximize energy

5 efficiency, environmental quality and recyclability

6 and parts reuse; and

7 (6) the term ‘‘advanced forms of work organiza8 tion’’ means way of organizing production activities,

9 job and workplace decisionmaking systems to take

10 full advantage of workers’ skills, knowledge and

11 judgment, including horizontal organization

12 hierarchies with expanded responsibility and auton13 omy for front-line workers; autonomous work teams

14 empowered to work directly with customers and sup15 pliers; jobs that are redesigned to expand skill and

16 capitalize on previous worker knowledge and experi17 ence; and work systems built in ongoing investments

18 in new and expanded worker skills.

19 SEC. 5. GRANTS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, after

21 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall, to the

22 extent appropriations are available, award grants to eligi23 ble entities to support the purpose of this Act as stated

24 in section 3.
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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

2 under this section, an entity shall—

3 (1) be a post-secondary educational institution,

4 a labor organization, a worker organization, a non5 profit organization or a partnership consortium of

6 such entities;

7 (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap8 plication at such time, in such manner and contain9 ing such information as the Secretary may require,

10 including a description of the activities that the en11 tity will carry out using amounts received under the

12 grant; and

13 (3) agree to make available (directly or through

14 donations from public or private entities) non-Fed15 eral contributions toward the costs of the activities

16 to be conducted with grant funds, in an amount

17 equal to the amount required under subsection (d)

18 of this section.

19 (c) USE OF AMOUNTS.—An entity shall use amounts

20 received under a grant awarded under this section to fur21 ther the purposes described in section 3 in the through

22 activities such as—

23 (1) the dissemination of information to employ24 ers, labor organizations, workers, worker organiza25 tions, State economic development agencies, State
9

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1 industrial extension programs, Advanced Technology

2 Centers, and National Manufacturing Technology

3 Centers regarding successful practices relating to the

4 effective deployment of new and advanced workplace

5 technologies, advanced workplace practices and

6 forms of work organization;

7 (2) the provision of technical assistance to en8 able workers, labor organizations, worker organiza9 tions, employers, State economic development agen10 cies, State industrial extension programs, Advanced

11 Technology Centers, and National Manufacturing

12 Technology Centers to identify workplace practices,

13 forms of work organization and strategies which en14 hance the effective evaluation, selection and imple15 mentation of new workplace technologies;

16 (3) the provision of technical assistance to en17 able workers, labor organizations, worker organiza18 tions, employers, State economic development agen19 cies, State industrial extension programs, Advanced

20 Technology Centers, and National Manufacturing

21 Technology Centers to develop and implement coop22 erative labor-management programs which address

23 the evaluation, selection and implements implemen24 tation of new technologies in the workplace;
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1 (4) the identification of new and advanced

2 workplace technologies, workplace practices and

3 forms of workplace organization which promote the

4 improvement of workers’ skills, wages and working

5 conditions and are consistent to the needs of local

6 communities and a healthy environment;

7 (5) the development and dissemination of train8 ing programs and materials relating to the services

9 provided pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (4)

10 above;

11 (d) TERMS OF GRANTS AND NON-FEDERAL

12 SHARES.—

13 (1) TERMS.—Grants awarded under this section

14 shall be for a term not to exceed six years.

15 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Amounts required

16 to be contributed by an entity under subsection

17 (b)(3) shall equal—

18 (A) an amount equal to 15 percent of the

19 amount provided under the grant in the first

20 year for which the grant is awarded;

21 (B) an amount equal to 20 percent of the

22 amount provided under the grant in the second

23 year for which the grant is awarded;
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1 (C) an amount equal to 33 percent of the

2 amount provided under the grant in the third

3 year for which the grant is awarded;

4 (D) an amount equal to 40 percent of the

5 amount provided under the grant in the fourth

6 year for which the grant is awarded; and

7 (E) an amount equal to 50 percent of the

8 amount provided under the grant in the fifth

9 and sixth years for which the grant is awarded.

10 (e) EVALUATION.—The Department shall develop

11 mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of the use of

12 a grant awarded under this section.

13 SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF BEST

14 PRACTICES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) The Secretary, in cooperation and after con17 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall as18 sist employers, employer associations, workers, labor

19 organizations and worker organizations in success20 fully adopting advanced workplace technologies, ad21 vanced workplace practices and advanced forms of

22 work organization by identifying, collecting and dis23 seminating information on best workplace practices

24 and workplace assessment tools, including—
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1 (A) methods, techniques and successful

2 models of labor-management cooperation and

3 worker participation in the development, evalua4 tion, selection and implementation of new and

5 advanced workplace technologies, workplace

6 practices, and new forms of work organization;

7 (B) methods, techniques and successful

8 models for the design and implementation of

9 new and advanced workplace practices;

10 (C) methods, techniques and successful

11 models for the design and implementation of

12 new forms of work organization; and

13 (D) methods, techniques and successful

14 models for the assessment of worker skills and

15 training needs relating to the effective develop16 ment, evaluation, selection and implementation

17 of new and advanced workplace technologies,

18 workplace practices and forms of work organi19 zation.

20 (2) Such best practice information shall include

21 summaries and analyses of best practice cases, cri22 teria for assessment of current workplace practices;

23 and information on the best available education and

24 training materials and services relating to the devel25 opment, implementation and operation of systems
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1 utilizing new and advanced workplace technologies,

2 workplace practices and forms of work organization.

3 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—The information and materials

4 developed under this subsection shall be distributed

5 through an appropriate entity designated by the Secretary

6 of Commerce to the Regional Centers for the Transfer of

7 Manufacturing Technology, to the Manufacturing Out8 reach Center, to other technology training entities, and di9 rectly to others.

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out this Act such sums as may be nec13 essary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1997.

14 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under

15 paragraph (a) shall remain available until expended.

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workers Technology

18 Skill Development Act’’.

19 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

20 Congress finds and declares the following:

21 (1) In an increasingly competitive world econ22 omy, the companies and nations that lead in the

23 rapid development, commercialization, and applica24 tion of new and advanced technologies, and in the

25 high-quality, competitively priced production of goods
14

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1 and services, will lead in economic growth, employ2 ment, and high living standards.

3 (2) While the United States remains the world

4 leader in science and invention, it has not done well

5 in rapidly making the transition from achievement in

6 its research laboratories to high-quality, competitively

7 priced production of goods and services. This lag and

8 the unprecedented competitive challenge that the

9 United States has faced from abroad have contributed

10 to a drop in real wages and living standards.

11 (3) Companies that are successfully competitive

12 in the rapid development, commercialization, applica13 tion, and implementation of advanced technologies,

14 and in the successful delivery of goods and services,

15 recognize that worker participation and labor-man16 agement cooperation in the deployment, application,

17 and implementation of advanced workplace tech18 nologies make an important contribution to high19 quality, competitively priced production of goods and

20 services and in maintaining and improving real

21 wages for workers.

22 (4) The Federal Government has an important

23 role in encouraging and augmenting private sector ef24 forts relating to the development, application, manu-
15

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1 facture, and deployment of new and advanced tech2 nologies. The role should be to—

3 (A) work with private companies, States,

4 worker organizations, nonprofit organizations,

5 and institutions of higher education to ensure the

6 development, application, production, and imple7 mentation of new and advanced technologies to

8 promote the improvement of workers’ skills,

9 wages, job security, and working conditions, and

10 a healthy environment;

11 (B) encourage worker and worker organiza12 tion participation in the development, commer13 cialization, evaluation, selection, application,

14 and implementation of new and advanced tech15 nologies in the workplace; and

16 (C) promote the use and integration of new

17 and advanced technologies in the workplace that

18 enhance workers’ skills.

19 (5) In working with the private sector to pro20 mote the technological leadership and economic

21 growth of the United States, the Federal Government

22 has a responsibility to ensure that Federal technology

23 programs help the United States to remain competi24 tive and to maintain and improve living standards
16

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1 and to create and retain secure jobs in economically

2 stable communities.

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

4 The purposes of this Act are to—

5 (1) improve the ability of workers and worker or6 ganizations to recognize, develop, assess, and improve

7 strategies for successfully integrating workers and

8 worker organizations into the process of evaluating,

9 selecting, and implementing advanced workplace tech10 nologies, and advanced workplace practices in a man11 ner that creates and maintains stable well-paying

12 jobs for workers; and

13 (2) assist workers and worker organizations in

14 developing the expertise necessary for effective partici15 pation with employers in the development of strate16 gies and programs for the successful evaluation, selec17 tion, and implementation of advanced workplace tech18 nologies and advanced workplace practices through

19 the provision of a range of education, training, and

20 related services.

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

22 As used in this Act:

23 (1) ADVANCED WORKPLACE PRACTICES.—The

24 term ‘‘advanced workplace practices’’ means innova25 tions in work organization and performance, includ-
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1 ing high-performance workplace systems, flexible pro2 duction techniques, quality programs, continuous im3 provement, concurrent engineering, close relationships

4 between suppliers and customers, widely diffused deci5 sionmaking and work teams, and effective integration

6 of production technology, worker skills and training,

7 and workplace organization, and such other charac8 teristics as determined appropriate by the Secretary

9 of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Com10 merce.

11 (2) ADVANCED WORKPLACE TECHNOLOGIES.—

12 The term ‘‘advanced workplace technologies’’ in13 cludes—

14 (A) numerically controlled machine tools,

15 robots, automated process control equipment,

16 computerized flexible manufacturing systems, as17 sociated computer software, and other technology

18 for improving the manufacturing and industrial

19 production of goods and commercial services,

20 which advance the state-of-the-art; or

21 (B) novel industrial and commercial tech22 niques and processes not previously generally

23 available that improve quality, productivity, and

24 practices, including engineering design, quality

25 assurance, concurrent engineering, continuous
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1 process production technology, inventory man2 agement, upgraded worker skills, communica3 tions with customers and suppliers, and pro4 motion of sustainable economic growth.

5 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

6 means the Department of Labor.

7 (4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘non8 profit organization’’ means a tax-exempt organiza9 tion, as described in paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of sec10 tion 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of Labor.

13 (6) WORKER ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘worker

14 organization’’ means a labor organization within the

15 meaning of section 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986.

17 SEC. 5. GRANTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, after con19 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall, to the ex20 tent appropriations are available, award grants to eligible

21 entities to carry out the purposes described in section 3.

22 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

23 under this section, an entity shall—

24 (1) be a nonprofit organization, or a partnership

25 consortium of such institutions or organizations;
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1 (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap2 plication at such time, in such manner, and contain3 ing such information as the Secretary may require,

4 including a description of the activities that the en5 tity will carry out using amounts received under the

6 grant; and

7 (3) agree to make available (directly or through

8 donations from public or private entities) non-Federal

9 contributions toward the costs of the activities to be

10 conducted with grant funds, in an amount equal to

11 the amount required under subsection (d).

12 (c) USE OF AMOUNTS.—An entity shall use amounts

13 received under a grant awarded under this section to carry

14 out the purposes described in section 3 through activities

15 such as—

16 (1) the dissemination of information to workers,

17 worker organizations, employers, State economic de18 velopment agencies, State industrial extension pro19 grams, Advanced Technology Centers, and National

20 Manufacturing Technology Centers regarding success21 ful practices relating to the effective deployment of

22 advanced workplace technologies, and advanced work23 place practices;

24 (2) the provision of technical assistance to work25 ers, worker organizations, employers, State economic
20

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1 development agencies, State industrial extension pro2 grams, Advanced Technology Centers, and National

3 Manufacturing Technology Centers to identify ad4 vanced workplace practices and strategies that en5 hance the effective evaluation, selection, and imple6 mentation of advanced workplace technologies;

7 (3) the researching and identification of new and

8 advanced workplace technologies, and advanced work9 place practices that promote the improvement of

10 workers’ skills, wages, working conditions, and job se11 curity, that research the link between advanced work12 place practices and long-term corporate performance,

13 and that are consistent with the needs of local com14 munities and the need for a healthy environment; and

15 (4) the development and dissemination of train16 ing programs and materials relating to the services

17 provided pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (3).

18 (d) TERMS OF GRANTS AND NON-FEDERAL SHARES.—

19 (1) TERMS.—Grants awarded under this section

20 shall be for a term not to exceed 6 years.

21 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Amounts required to

22 be contributed by an entity under subsection (b)(3)

23 shall equal—
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1 (A) an amount equal to 15 percent of the

2 amount provided under the grant in the first

3 year for which the grant is awarded;

4 (B) an amount equal to 20 percent of the

5 amount provided under the grant in the second

6 year for which the grant is awarded;

7 (C) an amount equal to 33 percent of the

8 amount provided under the grant in the third

9 year for which the grant is awarded;

10 (D) an amount equal to 40 percent of the

11 amount provided under the grant in the fourth

12 year for which the grant is awarded; and

13 (E) an amount equal to 50 percent of the

14 amount provided under the grant in the fifth

15 and sixth years for which the grant is awarded.

16 (e) EVALUATION.—The Department shall develop

17 mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of the use of a

18 grant awarded under this section in carrying out the pur19 poses under section 3 and, not later than 2 years after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter,

21 prepare and submit a report to Congress concerning such

22 evaluation.

23 SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF BEST

24 PRACTICES.

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) INFORMATION.—The Secretary, in coopera2 tion and after consultation with the Secretary of

3 Commerce, shall assist workers, worker organizations,

4 and employers in successfully adopting advanced

5 workplace technologies, and advanced workplace prac6 tices by identifying, collecting, and disseminating in7 formation on best workplace practices and workplace

8 assessment tools, including—

9 (A) methods, techniques, and successful

10 models of labor-management cooperation and of

11 worker and worker organization participation in

12 the development, evaluation, selection, and im13 plementation of new and advanced workplace

14 technologies, and advanced workplace practices;

15 (B) methods, techniques, and successful

16 models for the design and implementation of new

17 and advanced workplace practices;

18 (C) methods, techniques, and successful

19 models for the design and implementation of ad20 vanced forms of work organization; and

21 (D) methods, techniques, and successful

22 models for the assessment of worker skills and

23 training needs relating to the effective develop24 ment, evaluation, selection, and implementation
23

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1 of advanced workplace technologies, and ad2 vanced workplace practices.

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Such information on best work4 place practices shall include—

5 (A) summaries and analyses of best practice

6 cases;

7 (B) criteria for assessment of current work8 place practices; and

9 (C) information on the best available edu10 cation and training materials and services relat11 ing to the development, implementation, and op12 eration of systems utilizing new and advanced

13 workplace technologies, and advanced workplace

14 practices.

15 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—The information and materials

16 developed under this section shall be distributed through an

17 appropriate entity designated by the Secretary of Commerce

18 to the Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing

19 Technology, to the Manufacturing Outreach Center, to other

20 technology training entities, and directly to others as deter21 mined appropriate by the Secretary of Labor and the Sec22 retary of Commerce.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary

4 for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1997.

5 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under sub6 section (a) shall remain available until expended.

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