MUNCIE, Ind. -- Public outrage over massive layoffs is forcing many corporations to rethink the way they handle plant closings or relocations, says a Ball State University management expert.

At the same time, unions are working more closely with management to help firms remain competitive and find displaced workers employment, said Carolyn Mueller, a management professor.

"The days of union and management being adversaries is over," she said. "Unions must work arm-in-arm with management or they'll become fossils."

At the same time, Mueller said management must include workers in the decision-making process. Everyone has to be on the same side when facing a very competitive world market.

Management-union cooperation in the United States is a fairly recent phenomena after decades of strikes, walkouts and plant shutdowns, Mueller said.

The cause for the cooperation may be found in public outrage over management insensitivity for moving jobs overseas or south of the border as well as what is perceived as unfair union demands, she said.

The North American Free Trade Agreement and other similar treaties eliminated tariffs between the United States and Mexico, allowing corporations to move manufacturing operations to areas with lower labor costs. The increasingly competitive world market also forced companies to lower labor costs in order to survive.

Social consciousness by major corporations is not something new, but has become a recognizable trend in the last five years, Mueller said.

"It used to be that the bottom line was the bottom line," Mueller said. "That changed during the early 1990s as the public watched thousands of plants close and hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs leave the country.

"The bottom line is important, and the public is capable of fighting back," she said. "They'll boycott products made by certain firms. There are certain investment groups that allow individuals to invest in pro-social companies."

Mueller believes a company has several parties that hold it responsible, including stockholders, communities, employees and unions.

Stockholders want the best return on their investment while unions, employees and communities want good paying jobs and other non-monetary benefits, she said.

Loss of a single manufacturing job causes the loss of two additional service or support positions, such as restaurant or dry-cleaning jobs.

"American unions should take a look at their European cousins," Mueller said. "By law, union and government officials sit on boards with management. But, unions there have the mind set that the needs of the company and employees come first."