Soc Spring Tuesdays 3:30-5:20 LABOR RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Transcription

1 Prof. Chris Rhomberg 302 Williams Hall Soc Spring Tuesdays 3:30-5:20 Major Themes of the Course LABOR RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES This course examines historical and contemporary issues of labor and industrial relations in the United States. We will address economic and legal aspects of these issues, from the point of view of a political sociology of relations between actors in the state and society. A basic premise of the course is that relations of work are a critical factor shaping many dimensions of social life, and struggles over these relations have important social and political consequences. Thus, while our focus is on the exchange and employment of labor, our readings and discussions will take a broad sociological perspective, including links with topics like economic development and group inequality; class, gender and racial formation; patterns of community and family; affirmative action and social welfare; and collective protest and mobilization. We begin with an overview of the origins and development of the American labor movement, specific analytical approaches to the problem, and a basic nuts-and-bolts review of labor law and technical terminology. We then turn to a narrative history of U.S. labormanagement relations, the complex relations between business, labor and governmental actors, and the economic and political contexts in which they have moved. Focusing on the 20 th Century, we look at the rise of labor militancy in the Thirties, the introduction of federal regulation with the National Labor Relations Act, and the growth of industrial unionism. This leads into an analysis of the post-world War Two social contract including the structure of collective bargaining and government policies of social welfare and affirmative action. Finally, we consider the breakdown of this accord, the resurgence of employer power, and the restructuring of labor markets in recent decades. Throughout, we will look closely at the organization of collective actors, the politics of public policy, and the historical legacy of institutional development for the contemporary scene. With this foundation, we will be ready to look at current issues in industrial and labor relations. Included here are discussions of the changing economy in both national and global dimensions, the functioning of labor law, the rights of workers and the prospects for unions. We will examine patterns of unionization that have developed in the public and service sectors and other "non-traditional" settings, and consider controversial issues in the organization of work. Of particular interest will be the changing shape of the working class, experiences of women and ethnic minority workers, and the emergence of new tactics and strategies within the labor movement. We will study these issues through an analysis of specific empirical cases and the observations of practitioners and participant observers.

2 Reading List The following books will be required for the course. In addition, selected readings [indicated by asterisks (**) in the course schedule] will be collected in a reader available at TYCO. REQUIRED BOOKS Johnston, Paul, Success While Others Fail: Social Movement Unionism and the Public Workplace, (ILR-Cornell University Press, 1994) Lichtenstein, Nelson, State of the Union, (Princeton University Press, 2002) Mantsios, Gregory, editor, A New Labor Movement for a New Century, (Monthly Review Press, 1998) Sacks, Karen Brodkin, Caring by the Hour, (University of Illinois Press, 1988) Turner, Lowell, Harry Katz and Richard Hurd, editors, Rekindling the Movement: Labor s Quest for Relevance in the 21 st Century, (ILR-Cornell University Press, 2001) Yates, Michael, Power on the Job, (South End Press, 1994) Zieger, Robert, American Workers, American Unions, 3 rd Ed., (Johns Hopkins, 1994) Course Requirements The requirements in the course are as follows: 1) regular class attendance and timely completion of assigned readings. Each week, you are asked to write 1-2 paragraphs of comments on the readings, and them to all class members the day before the class. 2) Starting with the fifth week, students will be expected to give a presentation, of approximately 20 to 30 minutes, on the week's readings, and lead the discussion for that session. Students may work in pairs or threes depending on class size; assignments will be made the second week of class. 3) A paper of approximately 20 pages in length, on a topic related to the broad themes of the class, will be due at the end of term. Your projects may focus on the a particular union, economic sector, or group of workers, or on the formation or administration of a specific law or public policy. You may choose either a historical or contemporary focus for your study. I will be very glad to consult with you if you are looking for a topic, and 1-2 page research proposal for your paper is due by February 18.

3 Grades will be determined from these requirements in the following manner: reading notes 15% class participation and presentation 25% semester paper 60% Extensions on assignments will be granted only with prior permission and for good cause (illness, family loss, etc.) Course Schedule January 14: Historical Overview and Analytical Frames Yates, **Olson, January 21: Collective Bargaining and Labor Law Yates, ; ; 7-48 January 28: The New Deal, the Wagner Act and the CIO Zieger, Lichtenstein, 1-97 February 4: The Rise and Fall of the Postwar 'Social Contract' Lichtenstein, Zieger, February 11:Civil Rights, Race and Labor Sacks, [entire] February 18: The Growth of Public and Service Sector Unions Johnston, 3-112; [proposals for paper topics due]

4 February 25: Lean or Mean: Production, Participation and Workplace Governance **Stull, Knock em Dead, and Erickson, Guys in White Hats, in Lamphere, et. al., eds., Newcomers in the Workplace, **Marshall, Work Organization, Unions and Economic Performance, **Shaiken, et.al., Experienced Workers and New Ways of Organizing Work, 1-67 March 4: The Prospects for Change Turner, Katz and Hurd, 1-98 Lichtenstein, March 11, 18: SPRING BREAK week 9, 10 March 25: Immigrant Workers and Low Wage Labor Markets Johnston, pp Turner, Katz and Hurd, **Wells, Immigration and Unionization, and Bonacich, Organizing Immigrant Garment Workers, in Milkman, ed., Organizing Immigrants, **Milkman, Organizing Women in New York s Chinatown, in Cobble, ed., Women and Unions, April 1: Labor-Community Coalitions and Metro Unionism Turner, Katz and Hurd, **Rathke and Rogers, Everything that Moves, and Gapasin, The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, in Ness and Eimer, eds., Central Labor Councils and the Revival of American Labor, 35-52, **Reynolds and Kern, Labor and the Living Wage Movement, in Working USA, April 8: Mobilizing Collective Interests: Identity, Diversity and Inclusion Mantsios, **Blackwell and Rose, Overcoming the Obstacles, in New Labor Forum, **Cobble, Remaking Unions for the New Majority, and Gray, Female Union Leaders and Union Policy, in Cobble, ed., Women and Unions, 3-23 and April 15:From the Local to the Global: Trade, Politics and Cross-Border Organization Turner, Katz and Hurd, , Mantsios, ed, , April 22: Review and Reassessment

5 **ADDITIONAL READING LIST Olson, Mancur, The Labor Union and Economic Freedom, in Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, (Harvard University Press, 1965), Stull, Donald, Knock Em Dead: Work on the Killfloor of a Modern Beefpacking Plant, and Erickson, Ken, Guys in White Hats: Short Term Participant Observation among Beef- Processing Workers and Managers, in Louise Lamphere, Alex Stepick, and Guillermo Grenier, eds., Newcomers in the Workplace, (Temple University Press, 1994), Marshall, Ray, "Work Organization, Unions and Economic Performance," in Unions and Economic Competitiveness, ed. L. Mishel and P. Voos, (M.E. Sharpe, 1992), Shaiken, Harley, Steven Lopez and Isaac Mankita, "Experienced Workers and New Ways of Organizing Work: A Case Study of Saturn and Chrysler Jefferson North," Working Paper #5, National Center for the Workplace, Berkeley, CA, 1996 Miriam Wells, Immigration and Unionization in the San Francisco Hotel Industry, and Edna Bonacich, Intense Challenges, Tentative Possibilities: Organizing Immigrant Garment Workers, in R. Milkman, ed., Organizing Immigrants, (ILR/Cornell University Press, 2000), Ruth Milkman, Organizing Women in New York s Chinatown: An Interview with Katie Quan, in D. Cobble, ed., Women and Unions, (ILR/Cornell University Press, 1993), Wade Rathke and Joel Rogers, Everything that Moves: Union Leverage and Critical Mass in Metropolitan Space, and Fernando Gapasin, The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor: A Model of Transformation or Traditional Unionism? in Immanuel Ness and Stuart Eimer, eds., Central Labor Councils and the Revival of American Unionism, (M. E. Sharpe, 2001), 35-52, David Reynolds and Jen Kern, Labor and the Living Wage Movement, in Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society, Winter , Angela Glover Blackwell and Kalima Rose, Overcoming the Obstacles: Forging Effective Labor-Community Alliances, in New Labor Forum, Fall/Winter 1999, Dorothy Sue Cobble, Introduction: Remaking Unions for the New Majority, and Lois Gray, The Route to the Top: Female Union Leaders and Union Policy, in Cobble, ed., Women and Unions, 3-23 and