Mike Cooley
Encyclopedia
Mike Cooley is an Irish-born engineer and former trade union leader, best known for his involvement in workplace activism at the British company Lucas Aerospace
in the late 1970s. In 1981, he was a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award
. Cooley was born in Tuam
, Ireland
, and studied engineering in Germany, Switzerland and England. He has held several leadership positions in the field of computer-aided design
.
. He was one of the militant activists behind the Lucas Plan http://libcom.org/history/1976-the-fight-for-useful-work-at-lucas-aerospace, a radical strategy to avoid workforce layoffs by converting production at Lucas from armaments to civilian products.
The vision of the plan was to replace weapons manufacture with the development of socially useful goods, like solar heating equipment, artificial kidney
s, and systems for intermodal transportation
. The goal was to not simply retain jobs, but to design the work so that the workers would be motivated by the social value of their activities. The proposals of the alternative plan were not accepted by Lucas management and, in 1981, Cooley was dismissed.
, on the issue of the creative achievements of human imaginative power. It was this book that initiated the idea of Human-Centred Systems.
Since departing from Lucas, Cooley has been active as an advisor on numerous public and private sector projects. He is a founding member and president of the International Institute of Human Centred Systems. He has published over 100 scientific papers as well as fifteen books, and has been a guest lecturer at universities in Europe, Australia, the USA and Japan. Cooley is an adviser to the technical periodical Artificial Intelligence and Society.
Lucas Industries plc
Lucas Industries plc was a famous British manufacturer of components for the motor industry and aerospace industry. It was based in Birmingham. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
in the late 1970s. In 1981, he was a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
. Cooley was born in Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and studied engineering in Germany, Switzerland and England. He has held several leadership positions in the field of computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
.
Lucas Plan
Towards the end of the 1970s, Mike Cooley was a senior designer at Lucas Aerospace, and chaired the local branch of the technical trade union TASSTechnical, Administrative and Supervisory Section
The Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section was a British trade union.In 1970, the Draughtsmen's and Allied Technicians' Association , Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundry Workers and Constructional Engineering Union amalgamated to form the Amalgamated Union of Engineering...
. He was one of the militant activists behind the Lucas Plan http://libcom.org/history/1976-the-fight-for-useful-work-at-lucas-aerospace, a radical strategy to avoid workforce layoffs by converting production at Lucas from armaments to civilian products.
The vision of the plan was to replace weapons manufacture with the development of socially useful goods, like solar heating equipment, artificial kidney
Artificial kidney
Artificial kidney is often a synonym for hemodialysis, but may also, more generally, refer to renal replacement therapies that are in use and/or in development...
s, and systems for intermodal transportation
Intermodal passenger transport
Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
. The goal was to not simply retain jobs, but to design the work so that the workers would be motivated by the social value of their activities. The proposals of the alternative plan were not accepted by Lucas management and, in 1981, Cooley was dismissed.
Architect Or Bee
In 1980, Cooley published a critique of the automation and computerization of engineering work under the title Architect or Bee? The human/technology relationship. The title alludes to a comparison made by Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, on the issue of the creative achievements of human imaginative power. It was this book that initiated the idea of Human-Centred Systems.
Since departing from Lucas, Cooley has been active as an advisor on numerous public and private sector projects. He is a founding member and president of the International Institute of Human Centred Systems. He has published over 100 scientific papers as well as fifteen books, and has been a guest lecturer at universities in Europe, Australia, the USA and Japan. Cooley is an adviser to the technical periodical Artificial Intelligence and Society.