Top Firms Pool Job Listings New Alliance Designed To Help Workers Weather Volatile Labor Market

Ten major companies - including AT&T Corp., DuPont Co. and Johnson & Johnson - are starting an unusual partnership to pool job postings, training programs and other work force information.

The nonprofit “Talent Alliance” stems from concerns that companies must do more to help their work forces at a time of upheaval in the labor market, the charter members said in announcing the multimillion-dollar project Tuesday.

“The restructuring at AT&T was painful to all involved, and made us think long and hard about the U.S. labor market,” said Hal Burlingame, executive vice president of human resources at AT&T, which spearheaded the idea.

“It was clear we were not alone in facing these difficult issues,” he said in a telephone interview. AT&T has cut jobs and made other changes as part of a split into three parts.

To keep member companies from raiding each other’s work forces, job-matching services will sometimes be restricted according to member wishes.

Along with job-posting services, the Alliance will offer three other main services to members beginning in April:

The “FuturesForum” service will offer research and policy statements from academics, consultants and business leaders. In addition, an annual conference and frequent forums will be held to discuss workplace issues.

The “Training and Education” service will offer shared courses and training materials.

The “Career Growth Centers” will offer career management services, including professional counseling, networking opportunities, or training for interviews.

The Alliance will be located in Morristown, N.J. Its other charter members are GTE Corp.; Lucent Technologies; NCR Corp.; TRW Inc.; Union Pacific Resources Group; Unisys Corp.; and United Parcel Service of America Inc.