Labor Relations Commons^™

2012-12-03 Newsletter, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress newsletter for December 3, 2012.

2012-12-03 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for December 3, 2012.

Top Athlete Pay, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

The US has a history of discussing the pay of the relatively well-paid. This is partly because pay levels of some are revealed publicly (e.g., CEOs of publicly traded companies). Americans are also characterized as being celebrity-obsessed. So discussing the pay of superstars seems inevitable. However, they do not have quality data on the compensation of the relatively highly paid in many organizations and professions. When the author speaks about compensation in front of large groups, someone (and in many cases, many people) gets incensed over what they term "outrageous" or "egregious" levels of executive compensation. Athletes are rarely mentioned. …

The Striking Success Of The National Labor Relations Act, Michael L. Wachter

All Faculty Scholarship

Although often viewed as a dismal failure, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has been remarkably successful. While the decline in private sector unionization since the 1950s is typically viewed as a symbol of this failure, the NLRA has achieved its most important goal: industrial peace.

Before the NLRA and the 1947 Taft-Hartley Amendments, our industrial relations system gave rise to frequent and violent strikes that threatened the nation’s stability. For example, in the late 1870s, the Great Railroad Strike spread throughout a number of major cities. In Pittsburg alone, strikes claimed 24 lives, nearly 80 buildings, and over 2,000 …

2012-11-05 Newsletter, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress newsletter for November 5, 2012.

2012-11-05 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for November 5, 2012.

Economic Effects Of The Minimum Wage, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

The US minimum wage, at almost 75 years old, remains the topic of many academic studies and much policy debate despite the fact that only about 5% of hourly employees are currently paid at or below the federal minimum. There are many possible and interesting economic effects of the minimum wage. The issue that has received by far the most attention is whether increasing the minimum wage has a negative effect on employment, and if so, for whom and by how much. Economists first approach this question through the basic theory of a perfectly competitive labor market where all workers …

2012-10-01 Newsletter, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress newsletter for October 1, 2012.

2012-10-01 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for October 1, 2012.

2012-09-10 Newsletter, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress newsletter for September 10, 2012.

Maine Lobster Fishermen Had Early Brush With Organized Labor, Charles A. Scontras

Bureau of Labor Education

In the current effort of Maine lobster fishermen to maintain and enhance their interest, John Drouin, a Cutler lobsterman and vice chairman of the Maine Lobster Advisory Council — a group of fishermen and dealers who work with the Department of Marine Resources to protect the industry — noted that Maine lobstermen operate as independent business owners, compared with Canadian lobster fishermen, who are represented by unions and thus exert greater influence against the processors. “Until the day comes when we become unionized or one big co-op, we are just 5,000 individuals,” Drouin said.

Ceos Off The Clock, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

There is new and interesting academic work on how executives spend their time and the personal choices they make to maximize utility. From a compensation point of view, one issue that has been at the forefront with respect to executives is perks. One CEO compensation perk that has also received increased scrutiny but is surviving better than club memberships is the use of private aircraft. In a related April 2012 paper, "Executives' 'Off-The-Job' Behavior, Corporate Culture and Financial Reporting Risk" (National Bureau of Economic Research working paper), Robert Davidson, Abbie Smith and Aiyesha Dey consider other off-the-clock behaviors of CEOs …

2012-08-06 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for August 6, 2012.

Paying Professors, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

One of the most interesting quirks of academia is professional tenure. Many argue that tenure is necessary so that faculty can be protected by "academic freedom" to study the issues they find important without outside interference or pressures to conform. It is also, obviously, a nonmonetary reward and this security for life could offset higher salaries. Few accounts of the tenure system, however, recognize that while tenure essentially grants a job for life, it does not come with guaranteed lifetime raises. Some academic organizations, however, give roughly across the board annual raises. They don't seriously reward performance until a faculty …

2012-06-04 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

No abstract provided.

Does Graduating In A Bad Economy Penalize Your Pay Tor Life?, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

Rigorous research has shown that the state of the economy when one graduates from college does matter. And, unfortunately, given the current slow-growth labor market, it matters not just for earning in the first job after college but also for compensation years in the future. Recessions are bad on graduates' pocketbooks, at graduation and in years to come. If that's not enough, it looks like recessions could be bad for these graduates' current and future health too. J. Catherine Maclean studies the effects of graduating from college during a bad economy on physical functioning, mental functioning and depressive symptoms on …

An Alternative To Temporary Staffing: Considerations For Workforce Practitioners, Linda Kato, Françoise Carré, Laura E. Johnson, Deena Schwartz

Center for Social Policy Publications

As the national economy inches toward recovery, risk-averse employers are increasingly turning to temporary workers to fill their hiring gaps. In fact, the temporary staffing industry has been a fixture of the US economy for decades. But the industry added a striking 557,000 jobs from June 2009 to November 2011 — more than half of the jobs created during that period. Growth is likely to continue: A 2011 McKinsey survey of 2,000 firms of differing sizes and across various sectors found that more than a third foresaw their companies increasing their use of temporary workers over the next five years. …

Whole Foods Market ™ Case Study: Leadership And Employee Retention, Kristin L. Pearson

MBA Student Scholarship

Employee retention can be a challenge for Human Resources in today’s business climate, especially in retail food service occupations due to long and sometimes unpredictable hours, limited benefits, and growth potential to name a few. Despite the obstacles, Whole Foods Market has been able to overcome such limitations allowing employees flourish and as a result have set an industry benchmark for reducing voluntary turnover. This case study research is an examination of Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey and his modern approach to leadership and its effect on employee retention. The purpose of the research is to examine the association …

2012-05-07 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for May 7, 2012.

Partnering With The Massachusetts Department Of Developmental Services On Employment-Focused Systems Change, Cindy Thomas, Margaret Van Gelder, John Butterworth, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (MA-DDS) has been working to make its system of day services and supports more focused on competitive employment outcomes. This effort has involved a partnership among DDS, the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), the State Employment Leadership Network, and the Work Without Limits project. ICI has worked alongside DDS throughout this effort, providing consulting, technical assistance, training, and evaluation activities.

2012-04-02 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for April 2, 2012.

Oklahoma, Maine, Migration And The "Right To Work:" A Confused And Misleading Analysis, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

The recent article released by the Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC), “The Case for Right-to-Work in Maine: Examining the Evidence in Oklahoma” (1/23/2012), attempts to make a case for the supposed benefits of a right-to-work (RTW) law in Maine, by discussing the case of Oklahoma’s RTW law, and then presenting a number of statistics on migration to Oklahoma, and from Maine to RTW states. However, a closer examination of this report reveals that it is based on highly questionable and misleading assumptions, and its assertions are based on incomplete data.

F.A.C.E.S. (Faculty Academic Community Education Showcase): Professional Growth Experiences In A Career University, Paul J. Colbert, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Institutes of higher education exist for the purpose of developing, fostering, nurturing, and stimulating the intellectual growth and development of students. The core values of a college education provide students conceptual and practical educational opportunities that focus on improving their skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge translate into purposeful, real-life learning experiences. However, in the academic community, learning is not restricted to students. Faculty, too, must be supported and provided opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Although professional development is not a novel concept in the education profession, schools often take up the gauntlet, but fall short …

Alternative Work Arrangements: An Examination Of Job Sharing, Compressed Workweeks, And Flextime, Joseph D. Lutz

Senior Honors Theses

Alternative working arrangements have become increasingly popular in workplaces across America and the world. One segment of alternative work arrangements is schedule flexibility. The three types of flexible schedules examined include: job sharing, compressed workweeks, and flextime. Each arrangement will be examined individually. First, a definition and background information will be given. Then, the benefits of the arrangement will be discussed. Next, the risks and challenges of the arrangement will be examined. Finally, there will be analysis of what conditions are necessary for the arrangement to be successful.

2012-03-12 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for March 12, 2012.

The Significance Of Race For Neighborhood Social Cohesion: Perceived Difficulty Of Collective Action In Majority Black Neighborhoods, Tamara Leech, Tara Hobson-Prater

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores William Julius Wilson's contentions about community cultural traits by examining racial differences in middle class neighborhoods' levels of social cohesion. Specifically, we explore the perceived difficulty of these actions-as opposed to general pessimism about their outcomes-as a potential explanation for low levels of instrumental collective action in Black middle class neighborhoods. Our results indicate that, regardless of other neighborhood factors, majority Black neighborhoods have low levels of social cohesion. We also find that this racial disparity is statistically explained by shared perceptions about the amount of effort required to engage in group action in different neighborhoods. These …

2012-02-16 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress special meeting minutes for February 16, 2012.

Labor, Industry Fighting Over Unemployment Benefits — Sounds A Lot Like The 1960s, Charles A. Scontras

Bureau of Labor Education

Current legislative efforts to reform the unemployment compensation law (LD1725) by increasing penalties for fraud and tightening qualifications for benefits, e.g., removal of the exemption of vacation time as a factor in assessing benefits and lengthening the search for employment after six weeks rather than the current requirement of twelve weeks, triggers some historical images.

2012-02-06 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for February 6, 2012.

2012-01-09 Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes for January 9, 2012.