Technological change is a continuing characteristic of modem industrial society, and change has always had an unsettling effect in labor-management relations. Heralded by some as the prime mover in an era of growing efficiency and abundance, technical advance has been feared by others as the harbinger of unemployment and want. Automation, the most recent variant in an historical process, has accentuated this anomaly, partly because it intensifies the forces of productivity and displacement and partly because it is an emotion-laden word, conjuring up visions of effortless plenty and manless factories.The chapters in this volume devote little space to accolades or cries of alarm. Technological change is accepted as an industrial fact, associated with gains and costs, calling for understanding, adjustment, accommodation and aid. The impact on labor and management, and their reactions and responses, are viewed historically and in the most recent collective bargaining agreements. Private adjustments are related to community and governmental policies in this country and abroad.
