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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Everything Passes, Everything Changes: Unionization And Collective Bargaining In Higher Education, William A. Herbert, Jacob Apkarian
Everything Passes, Everything Changes: Unionization And Collective Bargaining In Higher Education, William A. Herbert, Jacob Apkarian
Publications and Research
This article begins with a brief history of unionization and collective bargaining in higher education. It then presents data concerning the recent growth in newly certified collective bargaining representatives at private and public-sector institutions of higher education, particularly among non-tenure track faculty. The data is analyzed in the context of legal decisions concerning employee status and unit composition under applicable federal and state laws. Lastly, the article presents data concerning strike activities on campuses between January 2013 and May 31, 2017.
Introduction To The Workplace Constitution From The New Deal To The New Right, Sophia Z. Lee
Introduction To The Workplace Constitution From The New Deal To The New Right, Sophia Z. Lee
All Faculty Scholarship
Today, most American workers do not have constitutional rights on the job. As The Workplace Constitution shows, this outcome was far from inevitable. Instead, American workers have a long history of fighting for such rights. Beginning in the 1930s, civil rights advocates sought constitutional protections against racial discrimination by employers and unions. At the same time, a conservative right-to-work movement argued that the Constitution protected workers from having to join or support unions. Those two movements, with their shared aim of extending constitutional protections to American workers, were a potentially powerful combination. But they sought to use those protections to …
What You Need To Know About Worker's Compensation, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
What You Need To Know About Worker's Compensation, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
Annual data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor consistently reveal that for too many workers the result of their employment is a job-related injury, illness, and in a number of cases, death. These data document the ongoing need and importance of workers’ compensation. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on: • workers’ compensation, how it evolved in the U.S., and the impact of this history today; • developments with Maine’s law, and resources for accessing information on this statute; and • the need to reform workers’ compensation for Maine workers.
Toward A New Grand Bargain: Collaborative Approaches To Labor-Management Reform In Massachusetts, Barry Bluestone, Thomas A. Kochan
Toward A New Grand Bargain: Collaborative Approaches To Labor-Management Reform In Massachusetts, Barry Bluestone, Thomas A. Kochan
Barry Bluestone
No abstract provided.
A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn
A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn
Faculty Working Papers
If laws cease to work as they should or as intended, legislators and scholars propose new laws to replace or amend them. This paper posits an alternative—offering regulated parties the opportunity to contractually bind themselves to behave ethically. The perfect test-case for this proposal is labor law, because (1) labor law has not been amended for decades, (2) proposals to amend it have failed for political reasons, and are focused on union election win rates, and less on the election process itself, (3) it is an area of law already statutorily regulating parties' reciprocal contractual obligations, and (4) moral means …
Responsible Contractors Help Build Thriving Communities, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Responsible Contractors Help Build Thriving Communities, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
What is responsible contractor language, and why is it important? Public construction projects are often costly undertakings. In recent years, municipalities and schools are increasingly using responsible contractor policies to "set certain minimum employment standards" for bidding on construction work. In response to this trend, responsible contractor (RC) language is being developed and used to provide needed reform in the construction contract bidding process. According to a recent study of responsible contractor reforms, the public policy goal of these reforms is to "ensure that all contracts for public works are awarded to reputable, responsible finns that have the qualifications, resources …
The Minimum Wage: Two Generations Of Neglect Add Up, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
The Minimum Wage: Two Generations Of Neglect Add Up, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
Although a three-step raise in the Federal minimum wage that ended in July, 2009 is projected to generate a total of $10.4 billion in increased consumer spending,2 a survey of the wage situation in the U.S. today suggests that recent raises to the minimum wage are inadequate. Both Maine and the nation have been plagued by serious wage stagnation for many years. The overextended credit that helped fuel the recent economic crisis was exacerbated by what has been called a “collapse of hourly wage growth” by the Economic Policy Institute. In the longer term, the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum …
Update On Labor's Demographics, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Update On Labor's Demographics, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
As in years past, unionization levels have continued to vary widely according to demographic and occupational characteristics of the U.S. workforce, as well as geographic region. The unionization level of the total employed U.S. wage and salary workforce is one measure. However, in order to obtain a more balanced perspective, it is also important to consider the specific levels of union membership in both public and private sector areas of employment, which play a significant role in the U.S. economy. Using data compiled and supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor, this briefing paper provides a statistical summary of unionization …
Stretching The Law Ii: The Misclassification Of Employees As Independent Contractors, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Stretching The Law Ii: The Misclassification Of Employees As Independent Contractors, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
The misclassification of many employees as “independent contractors” (ICs) is problematic in a number of industries and employment situations. An earlier paper by the Bureau of Labor Education (BLE) found widespread violations of IC classification in the state’s construction industry. This paper provides a broader context for this issue with a discussion of the legal climate nationally.
Privatization Pitfalls Update, 2008, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Privatization Pitfalls Update, 2008, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
Policymakers at the local, state, and federal government levels often struggle to balance the imperatives of providing necessary public services with the constraints of shrinking funds to pay for services such as transportation, prisons, and human services. Among the many possible solutions public entities may consider is the strategy of privatization, defined as “any process that is aimed at shifting functions and responsibilities, in whole or in part, from the government to the private sector through such activities as contracting out or asset sales.” This briefing paper is an update to an earlier publication by the Bureau of Labor Education …
Stretching The Law, Stressing The State Misclassified Workers In Maine's Construction Industry, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Stretching The Law, Stressing The State Misclassified Workers In Maine's Construction Industry, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
The classification of independent contractors (ICs) is problematic in a number of industries and employment situations. This paper is intended as a survey of IC issues as they affect the construction industry in Maine. Construction companies have recourse to hourly labor for much of their work requirements, but like many other businesses, they also often employ independent contractors for some parts of their various building contracts. There is considerable evidence that these two job categories are being manipulated by some employers to bypass the legal intent of IC classification. A 2000 report produced for the U.S. Department of Labor found …
Project Labor Agreements And Construction In Maine, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Project Labor Agreements And Construction In Maine, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a comprehensive negotiated pre-hire contract for public or private-sector construction projects. A PLA generally includes mutually agreed-to work and wage rules for the duration of the project, including deadlines, wages, costs, production incentives, and hiring. Usually PLAs are between a developer or general contractor, labor unions, subcontractors, workers, and the employer or customer, who may be in the public or private sector.
Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony
Workplace Justice Without Unions, Hoyt N. Wheeler, Brian S. Klaas, Douglas M. Mahony
Upjohn Press
Wheeler, Klaas, and Mahony provide a thorough analysis of organizational justice systems by exploring nonunion systems of workplace justice and comparing them with the union system, American courts, and systems in 11 other countries.
Labor's Demographics Report For 2001, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Labor's Demographics Report For 2001, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2000 the actual number of union members in the U.S. declined by 219,000 from the previous year. The percentage of U.S. wage and salary workers who were unionized dropped from 13.9 percent in 1999 to 13.5 percent in 2000. In comparison, during 1999 the number of union members increased by 266,000. Historically, this increase comprised the largest annual growth in union membership in twenty years. Not since 1979, did a larger increase occur with workers joining unions.2 The decrease in the number and percent of union members in 2000 reflects the continued …
The Minimum Wage: Issues To Consider, 1999 Update, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
The Minimum Wage: Issues To Consider, 1999 Update, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine
Bureau of Labor Education
The current minimum wage of $5.15 is clearly inadequate to support any family — only a oneperson household can stay above the federal poverty guidelines on a full-time minimum wage job. The minimum wage will continue to decline in its real value, putting individuals, families and especially children at growing risk of poverty. This economic hardship is heightened by the fact that many of the new jobs being created in the U.S. economy are low-wage service jobs, often without benefits. With a growing consensus that a minimum wage increase is not likely to harm employment, there is overwhelming evidence that …
Labor-Management Cooperation: New Partnerships Or Going In Circles?, William N. Cooke
Labor-Management Cooperation: New Partnerships Or Going In Circles?, William N. Cooke
Upjohn Press
Cooke answers important questions about labor-management cooperative efforts and addresses the problems undermining these efforts. His analyses are based on a variety of secondary data sources plus primary data from three nationwide surveys of plant managers, union leaders, and industry executives. Also included are several prescriptions for the success of labor-management cooperative efforts.
Union Organizing And Public Policy: Failure To Secure First Contracts, William N. Cooke
Union Organizing And Public Policy: Failure To Secure First Contracts, William N. Cooke
Upjohn Press
Investigates factors that explain why 25-30 percent of the time unions fail to obtain collective bargaining agreements after winning the right to negotiate.
Union-Management Cooperation: Structure, Process, Impact, Michael H. Schuster
Union-Management Cooperation: Structure, Process, Impact, Michael H. Schuster
Upjohn Press
Presents the findings of a five-year study of the structure, process and impact of six forms of union-management programs aimed at improving productivity.
Worker Participation And American Unions: Threat Or Opportunity, Thomas A. Kochan, Harry Charles Katz, Nancy R. Mower
Worker Participation And American Unions: Threat Or Opportunity, Thomas A. Kochan, Harry Charles Katz, Nancy R. Mower
Upjohn Press
A comprehensive analysis of the effects of QWL and other forms of worker participation on the collective bargaining process.
Labor-Management Cooperation: The American Experience, Irving Herbert Siegel, Edgar Weinberg
Labor-Management Cooperation: The American Experience, Irving Herbert Siegel, Edgar Weinberg
Upjohn Press
Examines a variety of cooperative arrangements and the resulting problems and successes.