By Herb Mills

Page 11

Pride and Community as the Social Product of Work

Conventional longshore work is distinguished by widely varying and ever-changing operational circumstances. New and challenging operational problems and difficulties are constantly posed, especially for the holdmen who are "at the point of production."

Consequently, such work cannot be subjected to direct and continuous supervision, and the efficiency with which such work is performed is essentially a function of the initiatives which the individual longshoreman is willing to assume and the willingness of the men to cooperatively innovate.

Indeed, since it is in no way "routine," nor "rationalized," an efficient performance of such work requires a radical and broadly defined decentralization of initiative. The employers understood that the efficiency of their operation was in large measure dependent upon the voluntary and cooperative inputs of the men.

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