The twelve-hour shift in the north American mini-steel industry

The twelve-hour shift is now widely practiced in the chemical and petroleum industries but has not spread to many other continuous operations, in part because of the belief that the stress and heat in heavy metals precluded its use there. The innovators who created the mini-steel industry, however, have adopted this shift widely. This article, based principally upon a 1988–89 survey, supplemented in 1990 by a survey of additional Canadian plants, examines the experience of the mini-steel industry with the twelve-hour shift and finds that managements consider it a “definite plus,” particularly in terms of employee relations. The posture of the United Steelworkers, is, however, ambivalent, with reservations about the shift by national and some local officials, and support by other local officials. Professor Emeritus of Management and former Director, Industrial Research Unit, and Chairman, Labor Relations Council. David O. Northrup conducted the interviews and made important suggestions regarding the study.