This paper provides a case study of the effect of labor relations on product quality. We consider whether a long, contentious strike and the hiring of permanent replacement workers by Bridgestone/Firestone in the mid-1990s contributed to the production of an excess number of defective tires. Using several independent data sources we find that labor strife in the Decatur plant closely coincided with lower product quality. Count data regression models based on two data sets of tire failures by plant, year and age show significantly higher failure rates for tires produced in Decatur during the labor dispute than before or after the dispute, or than at other plants. Also, an analysis of internal Firestone engineering tests indicates that P235 tires from Decatur performed less well if they were manufactured during the labor dispute compared with those produced after the dispute, or compared with those from other, non-striking plants. Monthly data suggest that the production of defective tires was particularly high around the time wage concessions were demanded by Firestone in early 1994 and when large numbers of replacement workers and permanent workers worked side by side in late 1995 and early 1996.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
9524.
Length: Date of creation: Mar 2003 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9524
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Find related papers by JEL classification: J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration
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