In a landmark contribution to the education literature, Berube examines the political activities of the two teachers' unions--the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO (AFT) during the last three decades. The first scholarly study of its kind, Teacher Politics argues that teachers' unions have become the most powerful political constituency in the nation. Through effective lobbying arms seeking favored legislation and political machines supporting local, state, and national candidates with manpower and money, this force of 2.5 million teachers is changing American educational politics. As Berube convincingly demonstrates, teacher unions have been reasonably effective in their political and legislative endeavors and, through their enormous resources, have become the chief representatives of education in American politics.

This study analyzes the critical factors that have shaped the character of trade unionism in the Commonwealth Caribbean, as well as the major challenges that currently confront trade union practice. Particular emphasis is placed on the sociological foundations of labor law and the role of the state, in addition to the shape and contours of future industrial relations practice in the region. This unique analysis is placed within a theoretical framework that sheds light on the role of trade unions in a peripheral capitalist social formation. This approach exposes the contradictions that characterize trade union practice and defines the role of the state in an economy that performs a particular function in the international division of labor. This work compels a rethinking of some important questions in industrial relations, including the character and ideological orientation of Caribbean unions, the nature of and fundamental reasons for state involvement in industrial relations and how the future of industrial relations practice may be shaped. The book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in industrial relations, labor history and studies, and the economics of labor.

The practice of consultation between senior managers and employee representatives has a long history in British employment relations yet has often been overshadowed by discussions on collective bargaining. In the last few decades, the importance of consultation has been elevated by two main trends: the decline in trade union membership and the retreat from collective bargaining in the private sector on the one hand, with the result that consultation may be the only form of collective employee voice available; and the programme of legislative support for consultation by the European Union since the 1970s on the other. The book charts the meaning and development of consultation in the twentieth century and explores the justifications for the practice. It shows how EU intervention to promote consultation evolved and changed, paying particular attention to the adoption of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations, which became fully operational in enterprises with 50 or more employees in 2008. Analysing the half-hearted response to EU consultation initiatives by the social partners in Britain, it provides a critical assessment of successive UK governments' handling of the issue. Drawing on the authors' empirical research in twenty-five organizations, the book closely examines the take-up and impact of consultation regulations, and explores the processes involved in effective consultation. Consultation at Work looks at the dynamics of consultation and draws a contrast between 'active' consultation of the type envisaged by the EU, and more limited consultation used as a means of communication. Discussing the UK experience in comparative perspectives, it asks what has to happen for the take-up of consultation to improve and suggests the changes that should be made to the EU Directive and UK ICE Regulations.

Since 1980 Richard Steier has had a unique vantage point to observe the gains, losses, and struggles of municipal labor unions in New York City. He has covered those unions and city government as a reporter and labor columnist for the "New York Post" and, since 1998, as editor and featured columnist of the "Chief-Leader," a century-old independent newspaper that covers city and state government in greater detail than today s mainstream news organizations. Drawing from his column with the "Chief-Leader," Razzle Dazzle, "Enough Blame to Go Around" describes in vivid terms how the changed economy has drastically altered the city s labor landscape, and why it has been difficult for municipal unions to adapt. There can be no doubt, he writes, that public employee unions have contributed to the problems that confront them today, including corruption and failed leadership. But at the same time and for all their flaws, he believes unions represent the best chance for ordinary people to receive fair economic treatment."

When contrasted with the miners' dramatic strike victories in 1972 and 1974, the shattering industrial defeat suffered by British miners in 1985 has been seen as evidence of the further weakening of working-class solidarity. Undertaken with complete unity, the strikes of 1972 and 1974 brought the miners substantial material gains, contributed to the downfall of a government, and reinforced the National Union of Mineworkers' position at the core of the British labour movement. In contrast, the strike in Britain in 1984/85 was marked by internal division and by the miners' attempt to resist the pit closure programme of the Thatcher government, and it ended in bitter defeat.

The strike by Local P-9 against the Hormel Co. in 1985-86 marked a turning point in American labor history. The central role played in the strike by the Austin United Support Group brought the issues of economic justice and community survival to the forefront of the labor movement agenda. In response to isolation from their traditional communities, these women created a vital and successful strike culture that was characterized by cooperation, solidarity, and a variety of institutions to meet the economic, social, and spiritual needs of the 1,500 striking families. This work is important because it shows the strength of the women and their vision of economic justice, how deeply committed they remain to their ideals and their struggle, and how little the passage of time has diminished their anguish. This work is important also as a portrait of a typical midwestern company town where community life is colored strongly by economics.

Freedman focuses on investigation of employees by their companies and organizations, delineating the rights and obligations of the employer and the rights and privileges of the employee in the employment relationship. Internal company investigations have in recent years become widespread as companies and corporations seek to ferret out internal problems. Officers and directors as well as employees have been subjected to the internal investigative process. But the content of these internal investigations and the precise procedures utilized by the company or corporation are simply unknown for the obvious reason that no company or corporation wants to publicize the fact of investigation, or wash its dirty linens in public Unless such inside secrets are disclosed in the course of litigation, the author of any text on internal investigations cannot detail the pragmatic substance of the internal investigation. The point is simply that the internal investigation process generally remains confidential until disclosed by the participants.

There are, however, guidelines to the internal investigation that are available, and the author has utilized every known facet of the investigative process to spotlight what the internal investigation is all about. Factors such as the right to privacy; whistleblowing; discrimination based on age, sex, race, national origin, religion, etc.; drug-testing and alcohol-testing; as well as prime causes of discharge or termination of employment are all relevant, and are delineated hereinafter. In most instances, these factors are evidenced by decided cases, thereby establishing precedents and background for the author's conclusions. In view of the increasing amount of litigation in this field, Freedman's treatise will be valuable to bench and bar, and as a guide will be useful to executives in corporations and organizations throughout the private and public sectors.

History at the intersection of healthcare, labor, and civil rights. The union of hospital workers usually referred to as the 1199 sits at the intersection of three of the most important topics in US history: organized labor, health care, and civil rights. John Hennen's book explores the union's history in Appalachia, a region that is generally associated with extractive industries but has seen health care grow as a share of the overall economy. With a multiracial, largely female, and notably militant membership, 1199 was at labor's vanguard in the 1970s, and Hennen traces its efforts in hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare centers in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and Appalachian Ohio. He places these stories of mainly low-wage women workers within the framework of shake-ups in the late industrial and early postindustrial United States, relying in part on the words of Local 1199 workers and organizers themselves. Both a sophisticated account of an overlooked aspect of Appalachia's labor history and a key piece of context for Americans' current concern with the status of "essential workers," Hennen's book is a timely contribution to the fields of history and Appalachian studies and to the study of social movements.

The sectoral composition of economies is fundamental to the understanding of growth, unemployment and the relative performance of nations. Henri de Groot models the relationship between these four factors from a single theoretical perspective in order to determine the foundations of the wealth of nations. Special issues that are addressed include: * the macroeconomic consequences of outsourcing and downsizing * unemployment and catching-up * the relationship between growth and unemployment in a dual labour market * the relative stagnancy of Europe versus the USA in terms of productivity levels and unemployment * transitional dynamics in two-sector endogenous growth models * the causes of deindustrialization * the role of trade unions and efficiency-wage considerations Growth, Unemployment and Deindustrialization will be of paramount interest to scholars of endogenous growth theory, economic growth and unemployment, labour market economics and industrial organization.

Bognanno and Coleman offer the most comprehensive, current, and valuable work on arbitrators and their professional practice. The contributors to this volume describe paths of career entry, compensation, demographics, market conditions facing arbitrators, and caseloads. The empirically based findings are drawn from a representative sampling of all the nation's arbitrators and afford a previously unavailable picture. The reader gains important insights into these decisionmakers' backgrounds, career development, arbital experiences, and aspirations.

This work is especially important because many of the arbitrators' characteristics, which are captured and described herein, are seen to be enduring or open only to change over an extended time period. The material, fascinating in its detailed analysis of a vital but surprisingly unstudied profession, presents a rich analysis of an occupation that has played a societal role of major significance from earliest times. A work, accordingly, of widespread interest and value relating to the ever fertile fields of dispute resolution.

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations is a refereed research volume published annually or biannually. Although the series is designed to focus on industrial relations issues, volumes also focus on diverse disciplines, such as economics, law, history, organizational behavior, psychology, and sociology.

How did the alliance between labor and the Democratic Party develop after the First World War? What role does Evansville play in an examination of this alliance? What was the impact of the alliance on U.S politics and society? These are some of the questions that Samuel W. White tackles in his book Fragile Alliances: Labor and Politics in Evansville, Indiana, 1919-1955. Focusing on Evansville, Indiana, as a case study, White challenges traditional assumptions in the field, such as the following: labor has one political voice; labor is monolithic in electoral politics; the New Deal successfully reordered American society and politics. White examines the roles played by political repression, opposition by employers, and anticommunist forces within the community as well as the labor movement in undermining the labor-Democratic Party alliance in Evansville. He contends that by the 1950s, the impact of these forces blunted the potential of the labor movement and the Democratic Party to transform the political system by giving workers and their allies a permanent political space in electoral politics. How did the alliance between labor and the Democratic Party develop after the First World War? What role does Evansville play in an examination of this alliance? What was the impact of the alliance on U.S politics and society? These are some of the questions that White tackles in his book Fragile Alliances: Labor and Politics in Evansville, Indiana, 1919-1955. Focusing on Evansville, Indiana, as a case study, White challenges traditional assumptions in the field, such as the following: labor has one political voice; labor is monolithic in electoral politics; the New Deal successfully reordered American society and politics. White examines the roles played by political repression, opposition by employers, and anticommunist forces within the community as well as the labor movement in undermining the labor-Democratic Party alliance in Evansville. He contends that by the 1950s, the impact of these forces blunted the potential of the labor movement and the Democratic Party to transform the political system by giving workers and their allies a permanent political space in electoral politics. Much of the published literature on labor and politics in the U.S. is focused on national events and organizations that make labor appear as a monolith in electoral politics. White diverges from the national focus of the majority of this literature, instead looking at labor and politics at the local level. While much of the published literature argues that the alliance between labor and the Democratic Party in the 1930s was a formidable force that reordered American society and politics, White shows that in Evansville, the alliance was anything but that. Racked by political repression, opposition by employers, and anticommunist forces within the community and the labor movement itself, the alliance was remarkably fragile and incapable of sustaining the momentum it had established in the 1930s.

Economists as well as labor relation and industrial executives are concerned with the influence of technology and union/management behavior in the decline of printing union membership. Technology and Union Survival draws together the influx of technology and union behavior into a unified explanation for the decline of union members in the printing industry. The author presents the first published data series in craft training and relative skilled wates as well as estimates of the competitive labor market for the ITU and GCIU.

By examining the history of the legal regulation of union actions, this fascinating book offers a new interpretation of American labor-law policy-and its harmful impact on workers today. Arguing that the decline in union membership and bargaining power is linked to rising income inequality, this important book traces the evolution of labor law in America from the first labor-law case in 1806 through the passage of right-to-work legislation in Michigan and Indiana in 2012. In doing so, it shares important insights into economic development, exploring both the nature of work in America and the part the legal system played-and continues to play-in shaping the lives of American workers. The book illustrates the intertwined history of labor law and politics, showing how these forces quashed unions in the 19th century, allowed them to flourish in the mid-20th century, and squelched them again in recent years. Readers will learn about the negative impact of union decline on American workers and how that decline has been influenced by political forces. They will see how the right-to-work and Tea Party movements have combined to prevent union organizing, to the detriment of the middle class. And they will better understand the current failure to reform labor law, despite a consensus that unions can protect workers without damaging market efficiencies. Provides a unique interpretation of labor law from a multidisciplinary perspective that encompasses history, politics, economics, culture, and psychology Considers the role organized labor played in creating the American middle class and what role it might play in the future Shows the adverse consequences of the contemporary right-to-work movement Examines the politicized nature of law in America Offers recommendations for political action to restore union vitality

Working Class Radicals: The Socialist Party in West Virginia, 1898-1920 examines the rise and fall of organized socialism in West Virginia through an exploration of the demographics of membership, oral interview material gathered in the 1960s from party members, and the collapse of the party in the wake of the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek coal-mining strike of 1912. The first local branch of the West Virginia Socialist Party was established in Wheeling in 1901 and by 1914 several thousand West Virginians were dues-paying members of local branches. By 1910 local Socialists began to elect candidates to office and in 1912 more than 15,000 West Virginian voters cast their ballots for Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs. The progress that West Virginia socialists achieved on the electoral front was a reflection of the party's strategy of increasing class-consciousness by working with existing unions to build the power of the labor movement. The party appealed to a fairly broad cross section of wage earners and its steady growth also owed much to the fact that many members of the middle class were attracted to the cause. Several factors combined to send the party into rapid decline, most importantly deep fissures between class and craft factions of the party and 1915 legislation making third party political participation difficult. Working Class Radicals offers insight into the various internal and external forces that doomed the party and serves as a cautionary tale to contemporary political leaders and organizers.

This text offers a fresh look at Taiwan's state workers in from the postwar period to the present day and examines the rise and fall of labor insurgency in the past two decades. Challenging the conventional image of docile working class, it unearths a series of workers resistance, hidden and public, in a high authoritarian era.

The twelve essays collected here offer a wide-ranging look at the latest theory and research in conflict management. Organized around six broad topical areas, the volume explores organizational conflict, communication and conflict, negotiation and bargaining, mediation and arbitration, conflict in the public sector, and international conflict. Interdisciplinary in scope, the essays are designed to help human resources professionals, industrial psychologists, managers, and students of organizational behavior learn to manage conflict by identifying ways to maximize its positive effects while minimizing its negative and potentially disruptive influences.

Each of the six sections includes two chapters and an introduction by one of the leaders in the conflict management field. Among the topics addressed are the goal interdependence approach to communication in conflict, applied communications research in negotiation, comparing hardline and softline bargaining strategies, consistency in employee rights, the effect of payoff matrix induced competition, and mediation in the People's Republic of China. The final two sections examine conflict in the public sector and international conflict, with individual chapters on managing conflict in the policy process, the theoretical dimensions of environmental mediation, relationships of hierarchy, and deterrence and the management of international conflict. Taken together, these essays provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of theoretical and applied work in conflict management.

Royo examines how national-level social bargaining was established in Portugal and Spain during the last two decades, despite unpropitious institutional and structural conditions. He argues that this development was the result of the reorientation of the strategies of the social actors. With their support for these macro-economic agreements labor unions sought to participate in labor and economic reforms and avoid the implementation of unilateral policies on the part of governments, while mitigating the decline in their bargaining power at the workplace level. In addition, Royo contends that a process of institutional learning and increasing autonomy by unions from political parties, particularly in Spain, have further enhanced social dialogue and led the social actors to conclude that previous confrontational strategies were detrimental to the interests of their constituencies and threatened their own survival. Royo claims that the emergence of new institutions to promote tripartite social bargaining in both countries resulted in the institutionalization of the bargaining process and contributed to a transformation in the pattern of industrial relations. Of particular interest to scholars and researchers involved with Iberian politics, labor, and political economy.

Over the last fifteen years, the deregulation of Britain's labor market has led to economic growth, employment opportunities, and a more diverse workforce: the "fat years." However, now as Britain faces its lean years with job cuts, rising unemployment, income insecurity, and related social strains, how can and should the government and key labor market policy makers ensure the labor market provides job opportunities and reasonable levels of social justice?
The fundamental changes that have occurred in labor market institutions mean that 'solutions' of previous decades no longer work. This volume sets out to address the major challenges faced:
- Unemployment, immigration, housing and job subsidies
- Key institutional changes, such as the decline of collective regulation and the rise of occupational licensing
- Pay inequality and minimum wages
- Pay and subsidies in the private and public sector
Contributions from leading experts in the field employ the latest theory and empirical research to examine a different set of problems and the policies that could help to resolve them.

Written in a clear, direct style, this book provides educators with a comprehensive presentation of the laws and rules governing collective bargaining. Establishing from the outset that educators have a constitutionally protected right to organize for purposes of bargaining collectively, Ostrander identifies basic regulations for such activity in the education field and goes on to present in-depth analyses of specific legal issues that may arise. Topics include impasse procedures, the right of middle managers to bargain collectively, the legal status of strikes, the legal basis for public involvement in bargaining, statutory provisions for union security, the legal rights of the individual in a collective bargaining setting, legal issues in post-secondary bargaining, and the legal status of grievance arbitration.

As our digital economy continues to expand, gig work becomes increasingly significant. This incisive book investigates the ways in which social dialogue can reinforce decent working practices and create inclusive workplaces in the growing gig economy, putting forward a framework for structured dialogue and collective bargaining among social partners, platforms, and workers. Centred on four major case studies - Germany, Greece, Switzerland, and the UK - the book analyses the key challenges that characterise the varied European landscape of gig economies and workforces. With a particular focus on the hospitality, driving, and food delivery sectors, chapters explore the intersection of social partners' responses and gig workers' capacity to organise and build collective voice. Examining the complicated and overlapping linkages between workers' rights, social protection, social dialogue, and decent work, the book aims to expose, and ultimately put an end to, precariousness and exploitation in the context of gig labour. Integrating critical theoretical perspectives and methodologies with context-sensitive evidence, this book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of sociology, social policy, labour policy, employment relations, and human resource management. Its examination of timely questions of collective action and social dialogue in the gig economy will also appeal to activists, journalists, social partners, and policymakers.