The construction industry presents a challenge to current labor process theory. Data from a wide range of work settings suggest it is premature to conclude that management has succeeded in appropriating workers' knowledge, accountability, and responsibility for work. Subcontracting, “lumping,” use of prefabricated materials, and other factors have undermined the centralization of managerial controls. Moreover, a craft ideology shared by workers, supervisors, and contractors pervades all types of work organizations. Finally, the labor market has become so fluid and dynamic that it no longer conforms to the traditional construct of an internal labor market. Since these observations likely apply to other work settings, a refinement of labor process theory is in order.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Althauser, R. P.
, & Kalleberg, A. L. (1981). Firms, occupations, and the structure of labor markets: A conceptual analysis and research agenda. In I. Berg (Ed.), Sociological perspectives on labor markets (pp. 119-149). New York: Academic Press.
2.
Applebaum, H. A.
(1981). Royal blue: The culture of construction workers. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
3.
Braverman, H.
(1974). Labor and monopoly capital. New York: Monthly Review Press.
4.
Burford, A.
(1972). Craftsmen in Greek and Roman society. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
5.
Clawson, D.
(1980). Bureaucracy and the labor process. New York: Monthly Review Press.
6.
Doeringer, P. B.
, & Piore, M. J. (1971). Internal labor markets and manpower analysis. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
7.
Eccles, R. G.
(1981). Bureaucratic versus craft administration: The relationship of market structure to the construction firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 449-469.
8.
Edwards, P. K.
(1986). Conflict at work. New York: Blackwell.
9.
Edwards, R.
(1979). Contested terrain. New York: Basic Books.
10.
Form, W.
(1986). Divided we stand. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
11.
Form, W.
(1987). On the degradation of skills. Annual Review of Sociology, 13, 29-47.
12.
Friedmann, A.
(1977). Responsible autonomy versus direct control over the labor process. Capital and Class, 1, 43-57.
13.
Jackson, R. M.
(1984). The formation of craft labor markets. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
14.
Littler, C.
(1982). The development of the capitalist labor process. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
15.
Mackenzie, G.
(1973). The aristocracy of labor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
16.
Nelkin, D.
(1971). The politics of housing innovation: The fate of the civilian industrial technology program. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
17.
Nelson, D.
(1980). Frederick W. Taylor and the rise of scientific management. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
18.
Powell, W. W.
(1985). Getting into print. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Reckman, B.
(1979). Carpentry: The craft and trade. In A. Zimbalist (Ed.), Case studies on the labor process (pp. 73-103). New York: Monthly Review Press.
20.
Riemer, J. W.
(1977). Hard hats: The work world of construction workers. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
21.
Riemer, J. W.
1982. Worker autonomy in the skilled building trades. In P. L. Stewart & M. G. Cantor (Eds.), Varieties of work (pp. 225-234). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
Silver, M. L.
(1982). The construction industry. In P. L. Stewart & M. G. Cantor (Eds.), Varieties of work (pp. 235-252). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
23.
Silver, M. L.
1986. Under construction: Work and alienation in the building trades. Albany: State University of New York Press.
24.
Steiger, T. L. (1988). Working construction: Organization and control of the labor process. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana.
25.
Stinchcombe, A. L.
(1959). Bureaucratic and craft administration of production: A comparative study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 4, 168-187.
26.
Swanson, H.
(1983). Building craftsmen in late medieval York (Borthwick Papers No. 63). York, England: Borthwick.
27.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(1989). Handbook of labor statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
28.
U.S. Department of Commerce.
(1971a). 1967 Census of Construction Industries (Industry Statistics and Special Reports, Vol. 1). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
29.
U.S. Department of Commerce.
(1971b). 1967 Census of Manufacturers (Summary and Subject Statistics, Vol. 1). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
30.
U.S. Department of Commerce.
(1989a). 1987 Census of Construction Industries—Preliminary Statistics. Bulletin CC87-I-28(P). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
31.
U.S. Department of Commerce.
1989b. 1987 Census of Manufactures (Preliminary Report Industry Series, Bulletins MC 87-I-24A(P) through MC 87-I-24D(P), MC 87-I-32B(P), MC 87-I-32D(P), MC 87-I-34B(P), MC 87-I-34C(P), and MC 87-I-34F(P)). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
32.
Zimbalist, A.
(Ed.). (1979). Case studies on the labor process. New York: Monthly Review Press.
