One consequence of the growing international integration of economies has been an erosion of American workers' rights. Employers attempting to meet the pressures of new international competition have had to change the way they organize their work forces and the protections given to their employees. There are more low-wage jobs, more part-time and temporary workers, more subcontractors, reduced benefits, and intensified work schedules. In the current environment, employers have a greater need for highly motivated, hardworking, skilled employees, and have often developed innovative forms of management to enlist these workers' support. Other forces transforming the traditional system have been the decline of unions and the ascendance of conservative policy. Even with all these developments, workers have won new rights in recent years, such as mandatory early notification of plant closings, greater rights for workers with disabilities, and increased protection for older workers. State legislatures have also enacted expanded protections for workers, and state courts have been rewriting basic legal doctrines governing workers' rights in ways that favour employees.
In addressing this subject, Edwards calls on law, economics, and institutional change.