Industrial and Labor Relations:  IndRel 701
Fall 2008
Mondays 6-8:40pm, Curtin Hall 118

Instructor:  Prof. Keith A. Bender
Office: Bolton 836
Phone: 229-4761
Email: kabender@uwm.edu
Office hours:  Monday: 4:45-5:45pm, Tuesday: 2:30pm-4pm, Wed: 9:30am-11:30am and by appointment
Website: http://www.uwm.edu/~kabender/701syllabus.htm 
(Note that this is NOT part of the university course webpage site (such as D2L) but part of my own website.  Link directly to this web address to get this syllabus.)

Course Description:
This course serves as an introduction into the field of industrial relations. Students will learn about the history of the field and of labor unions.  In addition, we will review how the industrial relations system in the US works in general, as well as specific areas such as the future of unions in the US, comparisons with the industrial relation systems of other countries, relationships with human resource management models, various models of dispute resolution, issues in labor-management cooperation, and differences and similarities between public and private sector industrial relations.

Course Objectives:

Course Requirements:
Students are expected to come to class having read the suggested materials for that class and to be ready to participate in class discussions.  Students are strongly encouraged to utilize email and the World Wide Web as resources for information about the class, networking, communication, and research. The course will have a web site (http://www.uwm.edu/~kabender/701syllabus.htm ) where the weekly readings and assignments, as well as other important information, will be posted.

Information on MHRLR policies regarding participation by students with disabilities, accommodation for religious observances, academic conduct, complaint procedures, grade appeal procedures and other standing policies (e.g., sexual harassment, incompletes) is available in the MHRLR office in Bolton 842. Any students with special needs of any sort should contact me after class, by phone or in the office during the first week of classes. For more information see: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf

Assessment:
Student performance will be judged using the following methods:

Class participation:

Periodic assignments: The weekly course schedule will indicate when these assignments are due.  It is your responsibility to obtain these assignments off of the web site.  The assignments should be typed in 12 point font, double spaced, be no more than 5 pages long, and have 1 inch margins. Grammar, spelling, and length do count!

Take home exam: There will be a take home exam, given on Oct 27 and due on Nov. 3 (covering material through Oct 27).  You can use notes or readings from the class, but not each other.

Group projects: As an exercise in teamwork, the class will be split into 3-4 person groups. Each group will be responsible for a 15-20 minute presentation on Dec 15 as well as a written summary of their findings for a research topic of the group’s choice. These topics must be approved by me by Oct 27 at the very latest, but I strongly encourage you to start thinking and working early on the project, as the end of the semester can become very hectic.  Source materials can come from the course readings or the internet, but a substantial portion must come from peer-reviewed journal articles.  An overhead projector will be available for the presentation, and if there is a demand, I will try to obtain a computer projection system with internet capability (give me a couple weeks notice, however). Note that all members of the group must participate in the presentation.  The paper portion (due with the presentation) must conform to the style rules of the weekly assignments and approximately 20-25 pages.

The grading of the project will be based on two things.  First, 90% of your score will be based on the quality of the research and knowledge of the topic, demonstrated ability of identify the crucial issues and their implications, the professionalism of the presentation, and (of course) grammar and spelling of the written portion.  This will be the same across all group members.  Second, the final 10% will come from a peer evaluation from your group members.  They will judge you along the following criteria:  attendance at group meetings, participation in meetings, completion of work on time, completed work was useful and relevant to topic, and member contributed enough to make the workload relatively equal.  Click here for an example of the peer evaluation sheet.  This is a not-so-subtle carrot (stick??!) to help the groups work together on their project.

Click here for more information on the format of the paper, as well as a list of potential topics.

Grading weights:
Class participation: 100 points
Periodic assignments: 200 points (4 assignments at 50 points each)
Take home exam: 200 points
Group project: 200 points

Grading scale:  A:  700-648 points; A-:  647-627; B+:  626-613; B: 612-578; B-: 577-557; C+: 556-543; C: 542-508; C-: 507-487; D: 486-417; F: below 417

Texts and Reading Materials:

Required texts: (available in the bookstore)

Appelbaum, Eileen and Batt, Rosemary. The New American Workplace, ILR Press: New York, 1994.

Budd, John W. Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin Publishing:  Chicago, 2008.  (Please come to class before you purchase this book.)

Kaufman, Bruce. The Origins and Evolution of Industrial Relations in the United States, ILR Press: New York, 1993.

 Other readings:
Other readings below will be on e-reserve in the library, unless otherwise noted below.  Please see instructions handed out at the beginning of the class on how to access the e-reserve readings or click here for the e-reserve gateway. (Choose my name out of the 'Instructor' pull down menu.  The e-reserve articles for this class should be the second item in the table.)  Please contact me or the e-reserve staff if you are having difficulties accessing the readings.
Class Schedule:
Sept 1
No Class - Happy Labor Day!!!
Sept 8
Course Introduction
The goals for this class are to cover the syllabus and outline the course. 

Required readings: 

  • Kaufman, 'Introduction,' Industrial Relations. 
  • 'Glossary' in Unions and Economic Competitiveness, ed. by L. Mishel and P.B. Voos, Armonk, NY:  ME Sharpe, Inc, 1992:  208-210. (on e-reserve) (book on traditional reserve)
Sept 15
 History of Industrial Relations:  Part I (Group A)
This class will investigate what the term ‘industrial relations’ means and will follow the history of the field. 

Required reading: 

  • Kaufman, Industrial Relations, up to and including Chapter 3.
Optional Reading
  • J. Dunlop, 'Commentary,'  Industrial Relations Systems, Harvard Business School Press:  Boston, 1994 (revised edition).   (on e-reserve)  (Note:  Although the entire article is on e-reserve, only read pp. 1-21 (up to Section III.  National Systems)) 
Library Visit  (7:45-8:45pm in the Library Computer lab:  E159)
Because this is the first graduate course for many of you and most of the courses that you take in the MHRLR program involve writing research papers, I have scheduled time for a UWM Librarian to show us the resources available in the Library on human resources and labor relations. 
Sept 22
 History of Industrial Relations:  Part II 
We will continue our discussion of the history of the field of industrial relations.

Required Readings:

  • Kaufman, Industrial Relations, Chapters 4-6. 

Lurie Ceremony
Held at the Edith Hefter House, this ceremony honors the recipients of the Melvin Lurie Memorial Prize and the Melvin Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Prize. The ceremony is free (and there is food!!!).  The reception starts at 7 with the guest speakers (including the winners of the prizes) will begin at 7:30. (Click on the hypertext for more information.)

Sept 29

Two part lecture

1) Current views of Industrial Relations and Human Resources

Required readings:

  • Kaufman, Chapter 7
  • Kaufman, Bruce, 'HR Management in the 20th Century: Milestones and Lessons Learned,' Perspectives on Work, Vol 5, No. 1, 2001, pp. 53-56.
  • Budd, Chapter 1, ' Contemporary Labor Relations: Objectives, Practices and Challenges'

2) Labor History/Legal Context (Group B)
In this class we will investigate the origins and history of labor unions in the US, as well as discuss some of the legal issues surrounding unions in the US.

Required readings: 

  • Budd, Chapter 4:  'Historical Development'
  • Budd, Chapter 5:  'Labor Law' 
  • Click here for handouts.
Optional readings:
  • R. E. Deeds and W. B. Gould, '50 Years of US Labor Law and Industrial Relations Developments,' Perspectives on Work, Vol 1, no. 2, 1997:  36-39.  (on e-reserve)
Assignment due: Assignment #1 (covering Sept 8, 15 and 22).
Oct 6

Two Part Lecture

1) The National Labor Relations Act and the National Labor Relations Board
Guest speaker:  Jessica Gibson, National Labor Relations Board Milwaukee Office and 2007 Melvin Lurie Student Prize winner

  • National Labor Relations Board at http://www.nlrb.gov/.  Also have a look at the National Labor Relations Act.

2) Decline and Future of Unions (Group C)
This class will look at reasons for the decline in unionization and the prospects for unionization in the future.  Of particular importance is the experience of public sector unions, which will be a particular point of discussion during this class.

Required readings:

  • B. Nissen, "The Recent Past and Near Future of Private Sector Unionism in the U.S.:  An Appraisal," Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 24, #2, Spring 2003:  323-38. (on -e-reserve)
  • Fossum, Chapter 16:  'Public-Sector Labor Relations' 
  • P. Jarley, J. Fiorito, and J.T. Delaney, 'Do Unions Control Their Destiny?' in Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meetings, Vol. 1, Madison, WI:  IRRA, 1998:  274-80.  (on e-reserve)
  • D. Nelson, 'Chapter 6:  The Decline of American Labor', Shifting Fortunes, Chicago:  Ivan R. Dee Publisher, 1997 (on e-reserve)
  • K.A. Bender, 'The Central Government-Private Sector Wage Differential,' Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol 12, #2, 1998:  177-220.  Click here to access the first part of this article.
Optional readings:
  • K.A. Bender, 'The Changing Determinants of Unionism:  An Analysis Using Worker-level Data,' Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 18, #3, Summer 1997.  (on e-reserve)  Note that I have included this not so much for the material in the article, but for references regarding the research on the decline in unionization.
  • L.N. Edwards, 'The Future of Public Sector Unions,' American Economic Review, Vol 79, #2, 1989:  161-5.  (on e-reserve).
Oct 13
 Economic Effects of Unions (Group A)
This class will examine some of the economic effects of unions on wages, employment, and other aspects of the employment relationship.

Required readings: 

  • L.G. Reynolds, S.H. Masters, and C.H. Moser, 'Chapter 17:  Union Effects,' Labor Economics and Labor Relations, 11th edition, 1998 (on e-reserve)
  • Budd, Chapter 2, pp. 62-68.
  • Click here for handouts.
Optional readings: 
  • B. Hirsch and J. Addison, The Economic Analysis of Unions, Boston: Allen and Unwin, 1986. Particularly chapters 5 and 6 (book on traditional reserve)
  • R. Freeman and J. Medoff, "Chapter 6: The Exit-Voice Tradeoff" in What Do Unions Do?  New York:  Basic Books, Inc, 1984. (chapter on traditional reserve)
Oct 20
 Work systems (Group B)
This class will be devoted to the development of how work systems evolve.  It is more theoretical in focus and will involve a review of Dunlop's classic model of industrial relations systems as well as the modern models of workplace organization. 

Required readings: 

  • Appelbaum and Batt, The New American Workplace, Ch. 1, 2, 8, and 9.  Concentrate on the differences between traditional and new forms of organizational behavior in US firms.
  • J. Dunlop, 'Chapter 1:  An Industrial Relations System,' Industrial Relations Systems, Harvard Business School Press:  Boston, 1994 (revised edition).  (on e-reserve)  Concentrate on pp. 47-54 on what are the factors that make up a system of industrial relations.
  • Kochan, Katz and McKersie, 'A Strategic Choice Perspective on Industrial Relations,' The Transformation of American Industrial Relations.  (on e-reserve)  (book on traditional reserve)  This is a very integrated article, but the meat of it is from p. 11 onwards.
  • D.I. Levine and L.D. Tyson, 'Participation, Productivity, and the Firm's Environment,' in Paying for Productivity, ed. by A. Blinder, 1991:  183-190.  (on e-reserve) Don't worry about the individual studies surveyed in the article - just concentrate on the general findings.
Assignments due:  Assignment #2. (covering Sept 29, Oct 6, and 13)
Oct 27
 Work systems continued (Group C)
This class will focus on some of the measured outcomes and effects of the work systems that were discussed in the previous section. 

Required readings: 

  • P. Cappelli and N. Rogovsky, 'New Work Systems and Skill Requirements,' International Labour Review, Vol. 133, #2, 1994:  205-220 (on e-reserve).
  • A.E. Eaton and P.B. Voos, 'Unions and Contemporary Innovations in Work Organization, Compensation, and Employee Participation,' in Unions and Economic Competitiveness, ed by L. Mishel and P. Voos, 1990. (on e-reserve) (book on traditional reserve)
  • D.I. Levine and L.D. Tyson, 'Participation, Productivity, and the Firm's Environment,' in Paying for Productivity, ed. by A. Blinder, 1991:  204-222.  (on e-reserve) Don't worry about the individual studies surveyed in the article - just concentrate on the general findings.
                                                      Optional readings: 
  • R. Freeman and J. Medoff, 'Chapter 9:  Are They Satisfied?' in What Do Unions Do?  (chapter on traditional reserve) 
  • K.A. Bender and P.J. Sloane, 'Job Satisfaction and Union Voice Revisited,' Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol. 51, #2, January 1998:  222-240.  (on e-reserve)
  • L. Calmfors, 'Centralisation of Wage Bargaining and Macroeconomic Performance - A Survey,' OECD Economic Studies, vol. 21, Winter, 1993:  161-91. (on e-reserve)
Assignments due: 
  • 1st take home exam will be given out and posted here.
  • Project titles are due today.
Nov 3
International/Comparative Industrial Relations
Industrial relations has a long history outside the US, with many different models being developed across the world.  This class will continue the discussion of the industrial relations systems of different countries and compare them to the US system. 

Required readings: 

  • Appelbaum and Batt, The New American Workplace, Chapters 3 and 4.
  • G.J. Bamber, R.D. Lansbury and N. Wailes, 'Introduction,' International and Comparative Employment Relations,  Thousand Oaks, CA:  SAGE Publications, 2004:  1-35.  (on e-reserve) (book on traditional reserve)  Note that the other chapters examine labor and employment relations in various countries. 
Optional readings: 
  • Budd, Chapter 13:  'Comparative Labor Relations' 
Assignments due:  Take-home exam is due today.
Nov 10 Dispute Resolution (Group A)
Guest speaker:  Ron Sweet, Retired Commissioner for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and winner of the Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Prize
Conflicts between management and labor have been at the forefront of research for industrial relations scholars over the past several decades.  This class attempts to take a more applied focus by covering some of the mediums available to resolve disputes between labor and management. 

Required readings:

  • E. P. McDermott and A.E. Berkeley, 'Varieties of Alternative Dispute Resolution,' in Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Workplace, Quorum Books:  Westport, CT, 1996:  49-66. (on e-reserve)
  • Budd, "Grievance Procedures", pp. 353-61, 365-69.
Optional readings: 
  • R. McKersie, 'Negotiations:  From Theory to Practice,' Perspectives on Work, Vol 1, #2, 1997  10-14.  (on e-reserve)
  • Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Home page:  http://www.fmcs.gov
Nov 17

Nonunion Employee Relations (Group B)
Guest speaker:  Kris Franceschi, VP of Human Resources at RW Baird, and graduate of the MHRLR program will come and talk to us about the employment relations at RWBaird, a local Milwaukee company which has been recognized nationally as one of the 'Best Places to Work' every year since 2004.

With the drop in the rate and absolute numbers of union membership in the US, there is a new emphasis on employee relations in the nonunion sector.  This class will explore some of the characteristics of nonunion relations and compare them to union models discussed in earlier classes. 

Required reading: 

  • Fossum, 'Employee Relations in Nonunion Organizations'.  (on e-reserve)  This is Chapter 16 from a labor relations textbook used previously in the class.  
  • Kochan, Katz, and McKersie, 'The Emergence of the Nonunion Industrial Relations System,' The Transformation of American Industrial Relations. (on e-reserve) (book on traditional reserve)
  • D.G. Taras, 'Nonunion Representation:  Complement or Threat to Unions?' in Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting, Vol. 1, Madison, WI:  IRRA, 1998:  281-90. (on e-reserve)

Assignments:  Assignment #3. (covering Nov 3 and 10)
Nov 24

Labor-Management Cooperation (Group C)
Guest speaker:  Howard Myers, Mediator and Arbitrator and 2008 Lurie Prize for Labor-Management Cooperation winner.
One of the earliest issues in industrial relations was emphasizing of the 'mutuality of interests' between management and labor.  This class will review some of this history and discuss current attempts to promote cooperation. 

Required reading: 

  • William N. Cooke, "Cooperation:  Trying To Make It Work in America," Chapter 1 in Labor Management Cooperation, Kalamazoo, MI:  W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 1990, pp. 1-17. (on e-reserve)
  • J.R. Stepp and T.J. Schneider, 'A Model for Union-Management Partnerships,' Perspectives on Work, Vol. 1, #2, 1997:  54-59. (on e-reserve)
Optional reading: 
  • Budd, Chapter 11, 'Flexibility and Employee Involvement'
  • M.R. Kelley and B. Harrison, 'Unions, Technology, and Labor Management Cooperation,' in Unions and Economic Competitiveness ed by L. Mishel and P.B. Voos, Armonk, NY:  ME Sharpe, Inc, 1992:  247-86.  (on e-reserve) (For references see book on traditional reserve in the library.)
Dec 1 Future of IR/ER
This class will look at future issues in industrial and employment relations.  Topics will include trends in work systems, labor supply and labor demand, work/family issues, and issues regarding the aging workforce.

Readings: 

  • Budd, Chapter 14, 'What Should Labor Relations Do?'
  • R. Baughman, D. DiNardi, and D. Holz-Eakin, "Productivity and Wage Effects of 'Family-friendly' fringe benefits," International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 24, #3, 2003:  247-59. (on e-reserve)
  • Kaufman, Industrial Relations, Chapter 8.
  • E. Lofgren, 'Workforce Management is New Discipline for the Future,' Compensation and Benefits Management, Vol. 15, #1, Winter 1999:  13-18. (on e-reserve)
  • L. G. Reynolds, S.H. Masters, and C.H. Moser, 'Chapter 18:  Labor Issues:  Past, Present, and Future' in Labor Economics and Labor Relations, 11th ed, Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall, 1998:  548-553. (on e-reserve)
Assignments:  Assignment #4. (covering Nov 17 and 24 and readings of Dec 1)
Dec 8   No class.  This date is set aside for groups to work together on their paper/presentation.
Dec 15 Presentations and Papers Due

 Last updated 17 September, 2008