Employee Relations Ethics

This special issue reports on the changing social contract between employers and employees in botht he public and private work sectors with a focus on the American experience. The concept of "e;Employee Relations Ethics"e;(ERE) is introduced and defined as: "e;Treating employees properly and with respect and dignity."e; The lead article introduces a "e;new"e; theory of management which is employee centered rather than customer driven or stockholder mandate. The papers that follow address how: *the "e;changing nature of the American work force"e; has negatively effected US ERE; *universities skirt the law and contribute to ERE problems; *new work trend of working in teams impacts ERE; and *global compassion versus world competition determine and control ERE results. The final piece presents an ERE case study explaining the "e;broken covenant"e; between U.S. military policymakers and American troops during this era of warfare retrenchment and downsizing.