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International and Comparative Labor Relations

Lance A Compa

United States

Publication Year

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Full-Text Articles in Business

An Overview Of Collective Bargaining In The United States, Lance A. Compa Nov 2014

An Overview Of Collective Bargaining In The United States, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] American history reflects a long cycle of trade union decline and growth. Analysts routinely predict the death of the labor movement. (Yeselson 2012). Heralds of labor’s demise often argue that unions were needed in the past, but modem, enlightened management and the need for economic competitiveness make them obsolete. (Troy 1999). But then, workers fed up with employers’ exploitation decide to find new ways to defend themselves. History does not repeat itself, and conditions now are not the same as those spurring the great organizing drives of the 1930s and ‘40s. Still, American workers have shown deep resourcefulness over …


Enforcing European Corporate Commitments To Freedom Of Association By Legal And Industrial Action In The United States: Enforcement By Industrial Action, Lance A. Compa, Fred Feinstein Nov 2012

Enforcing European Corporate Commitments To Freedom Of Association By Legal And Industrial Action In The United States: Enforcement By Industrial Action, Lance A. Compa, Fred Feinstein

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] We believe it is important to discuss industrial action as one way to enforce commitments to abide by international labor standards in part because of the challenges of "hard" law enforcement, not only in an international context but also in the enforcement of domestic labor policies. Because of the challenges presented by "hard" enforcement of labor policy in both the domestic and international context, it is important to examine the dynamics that initially motivate the adoption of IFAs and other commitments to abide by international labor standards as an important aspect of their enforcement. What unions and other advocates …


Another Look At Nafta, Lance A. Compa Jan 2011

Another Look At Nafta, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

"Weak," "toothless," "worthless" and "a farce"—these were some of the epithets applied to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) labor side accord negotiated by the United States, Mexico, and Canada in 1993. Trade unionists and labor rights supporters were upset, first by the text of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) when it appeared, then by early experiences after it went into effect on January 1, 1994. But those wanting progress on labor rights and standards in international trade should be careful of making some idealized “best” the enemy of the good.


The Art Of Ignoring Impatient Elephants, Lance A. Compa Jan 2011

The Art Of Ignoring Impatient Elephants, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] Migrant labour was the elephant in the room when American, Mexican and Canadian negotiators hammered out the North American Free Trade Agreement last year. The elephant is still in the room, as negotiators now try to work out a "side agreement" on labour rights and labour standards to fulfill a campaign promise by President Bill Clinton. They never mention migrant worker rights, the single biggest issue affecting labour standards and labour conditions on the North American continent.


A Strange Case, Lance A. Compa Nov 2010

A Strange Case, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] The disconnect reflected in Bosch's action at the Wisconsin plant between promise and performance is the theme of a new Human Rights Watch report titled A Strange Case: Violations of Workers' Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations. The report details ways in which European firms have exploited weak US labour laws to carry out aggressive campaigns against workers' organising and bargaining in the United States. "A Strange Case" comes from Robert Louis Stevenson's famous The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.


Comparing The Naalc And The European Union Social Charter (Transcript), Lance A. Compa Nov 2010

Comparing The Naalc And The European Union Social Charter (Transcript), Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

This is a transcript of Professor Lance Compa’s presentation to the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation Conference held in Washington, DC on November 12, 1996 and published in the American University Journal of International Law and Policy. [Excerpt] After all of the excellent comments this morning and so far this afternoon, both from the panelists and from the floor, I am not sure that I can say anything new about the NAALC. So, what I want to do in this intervention is add some comparative discussion with respect to the European Union and the social charter of the European …


A Strange Case: Violations Of Workers’ Freedom Of Association In The United States By European Multinational Corporations, Lance A. Compa Nov 2010

A Strange Case: Violations Of Workers’ Freedom Of Association In The United States By European Multinational Corporations, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] A central conclusion of this report is that firms’ voluntary principles and policies are not enough to safeguard workers’ freedom of association. They can be important initiatives, but only when they contain effective due diligence, oversight, and control mechanisms. Otherwise, as shown here, shortcomings in US labor law create enormous temptation - especially among US managers not sufficiently overseen by European parent company officials - to take advantage of them by acts inconsistent with international norms. The pattern that emerges in the examples presented here suggests inadequate due diligence and internal performance controls to prevent and correct US management …