Labor Relations Commons^™

Fanning The Flames (After Lighting The Spark): Multi-Trade Comet Programs, Jeffrey Grabelsky, Adam Pagnucco, Steve Rockafellow

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] The COMET (Construction Organizing Membership Education Training) is an educational program utilized by building trades unions to generate rank and file support for organizing new members. Since 1996, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has been sponsoring COMET training in multi-trade settings for its fifteen affiliates. Between 1997 and 1998, the Department undertook a systematic evaluation of its multi-trade COMET programs to determine their impact on attitudes toward organizing as well as on the nature and extent of organizing activities. This article summarizes the lessons the Department learned. Among other conclusions, the evaluation reaffirmed that COMET …

Retesting In Selection: A Meta-Analysis Of Practice Effects For Tests Of Cognitive Ability, John P. Hausknecht, Jane A. Halpert, Nicole T. Di Paolo, Meghan O. Moriarty Gerrard

Jane Halpert

Previous studies indicate that as many as 25-50% of applicants in organizational and educational settings are retested with measures of cognitive ability. Researchers have shown that practice effects are found across measurement occasions such that scores improve when these applicants retest. This study uses meta-analysis to summarize the results of 50 studies of practice effects for tests of cognitive ability. Results from 107 samples and 134,436 participants revealed an adjusted overall effect size of .26. Moderator analyses indicated that effects were larger when practice was accompanied by test coaching, and when identical forms were used. Additional research is needed to …

The Myth Of Equality In The Employment Relation, Aditi Bagchi

All Faculty Scholarship

Although it is widely understood that employers and employees are not equally situated, we fail adequately to account for this inequality in the law governing their relationship. We can best understand this inequality in terms of status, which encompasses one’s level of income, leisure and discretion. For a variety of misguided reasons, contract law has been historically highly resistant to the introduction of status-based principles. Courts have preferred to characterize the unfavorable circumstances that many employees face as the product of unequal bargaining power. But bargaining power disparity does not capture the moral problem raised by inequality in the employment …

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Patrick Flanagan, Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

DePaul University hosted the 14th Annual International Conference Promoting Business Ethics, at The Standard Club in Chicago, November 1–3, 2007. Academic and business leaders came together to explore the important ethical issues facing the business community in the twenty-first century. The articles in this special volume of The Journal of Business Ethics have been selected from the many presentations at this conference. Sponsored annually by the Vincentian Universities in the United States (DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois; Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY; and St. John’s University in Queens, NY) this conference promotes the mission of St. Vincent DePaul, the …

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Patrick Flanagan, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

The articles in this special volume of Journal of Business Ethics have been selected from the many presentations at this conference and represent a cross section of the topics and issues covered at the Vincentian Business Ethics Conference at the Manhattan campus of St. John's University in the fall of 2009. Sponsored annually by the Vincentian universities in the United States (DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois; Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY; and St. John’s University in Queens, NY), this conference promotes the mission of St. Vincent DePaul, the seventeenth-century Roman Catholic saint who serves as the patron of these …

Special Edition Of Journal Of Business Ethics, Patrick Flanagan, Marilynn P. Fleckenstein Ph.D., Patrick D. Primeaux Ph.D., Victoria Shoaf Ph.D., Patricia Werhane Ph.D.

Patrick Flanagan

Niagara Falls, New York was home to the 13th Annual Vincentian International Conference Promoting Business Ethics sponsored by DePaul University (Chicago, IL), Niagara University (Niagara, NY), and St. John’s University (New York, NY), the three American universities sponsored by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians). Conferences in the past had specific themes and corresponding paper presentations focused on a particular topic. This one intentionally did not have a central organizing subject matter to allow for greater diversity. Leaders from the academic and corporate sectors, representing 30 countries, submitted excellent papers on a broad range of ethical issues. This rich …

More Evidence On The Value Of Chinese Workers’ Psychological Capital: A Potentially Unlimited Competitive Resource?, Fred Luthans, James Avey, Rachel Clapp-Smith, Weixing Li

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

As China continues its unprecedented economic growth and emergence as a world power, new solutions must be forthcoming to meet the accompanying challenges. We propose a positive approach to Chinese HRM that recognizes, develops and manages the psychological capital (PsyCap) of workers. After providing a brief overview of hope, efficacy, optimism, resilience and overall PsyCap in today’s Chinese context, the results of a follow-up study provide further evidence that the PsyCap of Chinese workers is related to their performance. The implications that this evidencebased value of Chinese workers’ psychological capital has for China now and into the future concludes this …

Talking Vs. Communicating, Ken Margolies

Ken Margolies

[Excerpt] There is a saying, "When all is said and done, more is said than done." Stewards who attend union meetings to decide how to handle and issue or grievance sessions with management probably agree. Why is it so difficult to get past the talk and make decisions, agreements, and well, get things done?

Bottom-Up Organizing In The Trades: An Interview With Mike Lucas, Ibew Director Of Organizing, Jeff Grabelsky

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] Like the bottom-up organizers who built the IBEW 100 years ago by traveling from city to city, working at their trade and preaching the union creed, Lucas has been around the block. From Florida to Oklahoma, Indiana to Tennessee, he worked from 1954 to 1959 as a member of the Laborers and Teamsters unions. He began his organizing career in the utility construction industry, and first volunteered his talents to the IBEW in 1960 by organizing the manufacturing workers at a new Studebaker plant in Bloomington, Indiana, which he had recently helped build as a union electrician. He served …

Building And Construction Trades Unions: Are They Built To Win?, Jeff Grabelsky

Jeffrey Grabelsky

[Excerpt] The evidence of labor's declining power in the economic and political arenas is increasingly clear. Despite the tenacious efforts of talented leaders over the past ten years, the labor movement has still failed to turn the proverbial cornet. Some labor leaders now believe that a dramatic change in strategic direction may be necessary to revitalize labor's fortunes. The emerging debate about labor's future touches every sector of the movement. The building and construction trades are no exception.

Values, Ideologies, And Frames Of Reference In Employment Relations, John W. Budd, Devasheesh P. Bhave

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Employment relations—which form most of the 20th century was called industrial relations, and what some now call human resources and industrial relations—is a multidisciplinary field studying all aspects of work and the employment relationship (Ackers and Wilkinson, 2003; Budd, 2004; Kaufm an, 2004). A multidisciplinary approach means that competing values and assumptions underlie the analyses, policies, and practices of employment relations scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. Unfortunately, these underlying beliefs are often implicit rather than explicit, or, with the longstanding focus on how industrial relations processes work, sometimes ignored altogether. But understanding the employment relationship, corporate human resource management practices, labor …

Obesity, Educational Attainment, And State Economic Welfare, Martin W. Sivula Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

For the first time in history, estimates of the overweight people in the world rival estimates of those malnourished. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) ranked obesity among the top 10 risks to human health worldwide. In the early 1960s, nearly half of the Americans were overweight and 13% were obese. Today some 64% of U.S. adults are overweight and 30.5% are obese. Even more alarming, twice as many U.S. children are overweight than were twenty years ago, a 66% increase. Non-communicable diseases impose a heavy economic burden on already strained health systems. Health is a key determinant of development …

Sampling Concepts, Paul Boyd, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

The usefulness of any research is dependent upon how well the group studied represents the group about which decisions are to be made or conclusions drawn. That is, it depends upon how well the sample reflects relevant characteristics of the population. When it is possible to study every member of that group there is no problem, for on these occasions we can easily calculate the exact attribute (parameter) of interest for our population.

For example, if we were interested in determining the average number of gallons of gasoline sold to customers at our service station yesterday, we …

Partnership Competency Framework: A Report On The Skills And Competencies Required For Effective Labor-Management Partnerships, Jean Joines Strasser

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Ethical Work Climate, Covenantal Relations, And Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Elizabeth C. Schubert

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was to provide an empirical evaluation of the relationship between perceptions of ethical work climate and organizational citizenship behavior. The study also investigated covenantal relations as a mediator of that relationship.

The sample for this research was comprised of subordinates and supervisors representing two locations of a national retail sales organization. Data were collected using both subordinate and supervisor responses. Subordinates reported on their perceptions of ethical work climate, covenantal relations between themselves and the organization, and their organizational citizenship behavior. Supervisors reported their perceptions of the subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior. Scales used to …

A Survey Of Health Care Personnel's Perceptions Toward Diversity In The Workplace, Jacqueline Elaine Sharpe

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the diversity climate in a large teaching military hospital by assessing the perceptions of employees regarding the organizational climate, including aspects of the climate related to ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and job level. All 3,176 eligible employees based in the medical center were invited to participate, 1,252 did so (RR = 40%). Participants were 37% minority, 57% females, 25% officer, 30% enlisted, and 45% civilian. Twenty-four percent were at the managerial level. Perceptions of the diversity climate were measured using the Diversity Survey Instrument (the reliability and validity of …

In Defence Of Exploitation, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

The concept of exploitation is thought to be central to Marx's Critique of capitalism. John Roemer, an analytical (then-) Marxist economist now at Yale, attacked this idea in a series of papers and books in the 1970s-1990s, arguing that Marxists should be concerned with inequality rather than exploitation -- with distribution rather than production, precisely the opposite of what Marx urged in The Critique of the Gotha Progam.

This paper expounds and criticizes Roemer's objections and his alternative inequality based theory of exploitation, while accepting some of his criticisms. It may be viewed as a companion paper to my What's …

Functional Explanation And Metaphysical Individualism, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

A number of (present or former) analytical Marxists, such as Jon Elster, have argued that functional explanation has almost no place in the social sciences. (Although the discussion is framed in terms of a debate among analytical Marxists, the point is quite general, and Marxism is used for illustrative purposes.) Functional explanation accounts for what is to be explained by reference to its function; thus, sighted organism have eyes because eyes enable them to see. Elster and other critics of functional explanation argue that this pattern of explanation is inconsistent with "methodological individualism," the idea, as they understand it, that …

Labor Should Join Right Now, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"RIght Now is a coalition of business, religious and community leaders trying to bring changes to the political structure of Rhode Island. This is good, but the most disquieting note of this announcement is the absence of labor leaders from its membership."

Impact Of Substance Abuse: Human Resource Strategies For The Hospitality Industry, Patricia J. Silfies, Frederick J. Demicco

Hospitality Review

No hospitality organizations are immune from the negative effects of substance abuse in the workplace. Ownters and managers must confront the problem head on and, in order to accomplish this, they must be in possession of the facts regarding the problem, and regarding options for dealing with the problem in the most appropriate manner for their individual organizations. The authors include an assessment of this problem as well as a summary review of procedures for positive management of a potentially negative situation.

Union Traditions And Economic Policy In Ri, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When compared with the rest of the nation, Rhode Island stands out as a highly unionized state. A recent study released by the Department of Labor shows that 108,000 of the 398,000 employed in the state in 1978 were union members. Membership in associations such as the National Education Association and others adds a further 11,000 persons to the list. This total of 119,000 union and association members represents 29.9 percent of total employment on non-agricultural payrolls, ranking Rhode Island 13th in the nation and highest in New England which, as a region, averages 26.6 percent, and the same figure, …

Role For Business Leaders In A Cleaner Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent sales promotion by the Providence Intown Merchants Association proved quite successful. Five-cent bus rides and bargain sales generated considerable business, especially on Saturday, normally a quiet day for retail sales in the downtown. This well illustrates what is possible when salesmanship and cooperation among downtown merchants are used to full advantage."

The Effects Of Productivity On The American Economy, C. Lee Metzger Jr.

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This 27 page thesis examines the effect of productivity gains on the overall economy of the United States.