I would hesitate to say that the US system arose out of completely "voluntary" agreements. In the US, most employees, even if they were to band together, have n

I would hesitate to say that the US system arose out of completely "voluntary" agreements. In the US, most employees, even if they were to band together, have nowhere near the bargaining power to be able to negotiate a seat at the table. As the article itself showed, when companies started falling on hard times, or even when one manager became aghast that the workers were sharing in the profits, the employee councils were out.