The Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations, named in March 1993 by labor secretary Robert Reich and commerce secretary Ron Brown at the direction of the President, has taken its examination of workplace issues to the people. Monthly public Commission meetings in Washington, DC, have been supplemented with regional hearings in Louisville, KY, and East Lansing, Ml, with future day-long sessions planned for California in December and Georgia in January. Public hearings thus far have addressed issues such as workforce characteristics, the impact of technology, the structure and operation of employee committees, the Railway Labor Act, and the web of government workplace regulations. An Oct. 14 forum in Washington, DC, attended by more than 300 academics, women's advocates, labor and management practitioners, sought to place the issue of labor law reform in the social context of women's work. Sponsored by DOL's Women s Bureau, the day-long event highlighted six expert papers and featured discussions on the changing American workplace, the experiences of women of color, impediments to organizing, and relevant labor lessons from Canada and France.
Women comprise almost half the workforce and increasingly do part-time or temporary work.
We want to ensure that their perspective becomes part of the dialogue. The Commission, chaired by former secretary of labor John Dunlop, also includes former labor secretaries Ray Marshall and W. J. Usery, Jr., former commerce secretary Juanita Kreps, former UAW president Douglas Fraser, Xerox chairman Paul Alaire, and professors Richard Freeman, Thomas Kochan, and Paula Voos. Professor William Gould IV, who was also named to the panel, assumed an inactive role upon his nomination to the National Labor Relations Board. Small Business Assistance. Help in understanding regulatory obligations of small business owners is the focus of an updated 87-page guide issued by the Labor Department.