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Full-Text Articles in Labor Relations

Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd Oct 2013

Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] Confronted by declining membership and market share as well as an erosion of bargaining strength and political influence, a sense of crisis now pervades many international unions. Some labor unions continue to adhere to programs and practices they have pursued for several decades. But others, faced with challenges so fundamental that their viability is at stake, have chosen to reexamine their basic policies and performance and to reorient their essential course. This paper evaluates the experience of four such international unions, all of which have recently embarked on strategic planning initiatives. Three of the unions – the Electrical Workers …


Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd Oct 2013

Reinventing An Organizing Union: Strategies For Change, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Richard Hurd

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] Confronted by declining membership and market share as well as an erosion of bargaining strength and political influence, a sense of crisis now pervades many international unions. Some labor unions continue to adhere to programs and practices they have pursued for several decades. But others, faced with challenges so fundamental that their viability is at stake, have chosen to reexamine their basic policies and performance and to reorient their essential course. This paper evaluates the experience of four such international unions, all of which have recently embarked on strategic planning initiatives. Three of the unions – the Electrical Workers …


Public Sector Unions: Will They Thrive Or Struggle To Survive?, Richard W. Hurd, Sharon Pinnock Sep 2013

Public Sector Unions: Will They Thrive Or Struggle To Survive?, Richard W. Hurd, Sharon Pinnock

Richard W Hurd

[Excerpt] There is emerging consensus among public sector union leaders at the national level1 that the threats they face today are eerily similar to those ignored by private sector unions 20 years ago. Privatization, reinventing government, a changing public sector work force, anti-government forces on Capitol Hill and in statehouses, union myopia, and member apathy all are taken with the utmost seriousness. The situation calls for a sophisticated strategic response. Because they are operating from a position of relative strength, public sector unions must be at the forefront of any effort to re-establish union influence in our society. With this …


The Effect Of Tax Limitation Legislation On Public Sector Labor Markets: A Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Jun 2013

The Effect Of Tax Limitation Legislation On Public Sector Labor Markets: A Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] This brief comment presents my views about the current relative economic status of state and local government employees and the growth of collective bargaining and influence of unions in the public sector. With these remarks as background, I then discuss the likely effects of tax limitation legislation on public sector labor markets.


Do International Freedom Of Association Standards Apply To Public Sector Labor Relations In The United States?, Lance A. Compa Jan 2013

Do International Freedom Of Association Standards Apply To Public Sector Labor Relations In The United States?, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] After November 2010 elections in the United States, human rights aspects of labor policy suddenly emerged at sub-federal levels. Elections in many states brought a sharp turn to conservative Republican rule. In this new climate, conflicts over workers’ rights took shape not at the ozone layer of high international policy, but at the oozing landfill level of local labor politics. Governors and legislatures in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, and other states moved to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights, blaming their wages and benefits for budget shortfalls. A vindictive North Carolina legislature made it unlawful for public school …


Public Sector Collective Bargaining And The Imperative For Service Delivery: An Overview, Jonathan Brock, David B. Lipsky Jan 2013

Public Sector Collective Bargaining And The Imperative For Service Delivery: An Overview, Jonathan Brock, David B. Lipsky

David B Lipsky

[Excerpt] When public sector officials and union leaders are willing to enter into cooperative arrangements, the evidence in this volume and elsewhere suggests they usually find that cooperation results in improvements in both the delivery of public services and the quality of work life. Certainly there have been instances when cooperation has failed to produce desirable results, but this volume includes ample testimony to its potential beneficial effects and depicts successful experiences with cooperation at the federal government level, in a number of state governments, in Indianapolis, and elsewhere. Also, we know that in places such as Los Angeles; Phoenix; …