1 EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION 
to this criticism, though it may be stated that the few companies 
where such an arrangement obtains have not felt the results at all 
harmful. 
It would seem that a plan which might operate more in the direc- 
tion of harmony would be one by which the person serving as general 
administrator of employee representation might be both chosen and 
paid jointly by employees and the company. The manager of in- 
dustrial relations in many concerns has come to regard his position 
as a neutral one; and to a large extent he has secured the confidence 
of employees to such a degree that often his attitude is truly neutral. 
The fact remains, however, that he is both paid and selected by the 
corporation, and subject to removal, demotion and discipline by its 
managing executives. While he may serve admirably as an inter- 
preter of employees to the management and vice versa, where the 
spirit of common interests has not been well developed, there is 
likely to be suspicion among employees as to his motives whenever 
a situation arises involving conflict. 
The nearest approach to such a joint representation, so far as we 
know, in the case of an individual company, is the “executivesecre- 
tary” of the board of operatives of the Dutchess Bleachery, Inc. 
His salary is paid by the company and he is nominated by the board 
of management, a joint body equally representative of operatives and 
managing officials. This nomination must be confirmed by the 
board of operatives, composed entirely of employee representatives. 
He is obligated under the plan to serve in an executive capacity for 
the board of operatives, being ex-officio member of all standing and 
special committees of the board, but having no vote. It should be 
noted in describing his functions that the board of operatives controls 
what is ordinarily described as welfare work, including the manage- 
ment of the company houses, so that a considerable portion of his 
work consists in duties performed elsewhere by the personnel de- 
partment.’ 
No conclusive answer can be made to the question as to whether 
employees should have a full-time, paid representative or should be 
free to employ expert advisers from outside sources. Adequate repre- 
sentation of employees may in some cases require that both of these 
16 See Selekman, Ben M., Sharing Management with the Workers. 
132