This timely and penetrating study provides new insights into a marketing institution that affects the food-shopping patterns and eating habits of most American families. It raises crucial questions about labor--management relations in supermarkets and seeks to determine whether various labor practices are working against the best interests of the consumer and efficient marketing operations.

Herbert R. Northrup and his Industrial Research group at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania employ the techniques of research and analysis in their...