Shopfloor contractualism was initiated by employers largely through changes in company policy, management structure, and personnel. The system made contract language the exhaustive statement of workers’ rights on the shopfloor, and the formal grievance procedure the primary mechanism for dispute resolution. After only a few years of experience with this contractand-grieve approach to shopfloor governance, workers realized its shortcomings. As shopfloor conditions deteriorated and unresolved grievances mounted, rising worker frustration made for tense labor-management relations.