Two stories of management-labor relations came to my attention in the past few days, and the two stories couldn’t be more different from each other. They’re so opposite that Charles Dickens’ well-known introduction to A Tale of Two Cities accurately describes them.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …”

The first article is the cover story in the Route 422 Business Advisor, a monthly publication that focuses on the business corridor bounded by routes 422, 100, 202, and 30 in eastern Pennsylvania. The company at the heart of the article is Superior Tube Co. Inc. (Collegeville, Pa.). Despite the shaky economy, Superior is in one of its longest growth periods in four decades and predicting 50 percent growth in sales over the next few years. (more...)