Collective Bargaining

This course involves a study of collective bargaining processes including contract negotiations, contract administration, and methods for the resolution of bargaining disputes. Both theoretical and applied issues in collective bargaining will be addressed. Specific topics include the economic determination of bargaining power, legal constraints on the bargaining process, negotiation strategies and techniques, and the use of mediation and arbitration in the resolution of bargaining disputes.

Introduction to Labor Studies

This course covers many topics important to the role of unions in the American political system and American society from a labor perspective. Topics include the role of workers in current and future times, unions’ institutional structure, collective bargaining strategies and obstacles for union organizing, recent union campaigns, labor’s political role, and the relationship between labor and the media.

Labor Law

In this course, participants will examine the role of government in the regulation of labor-management relations in the United States. While the focus of the course will be on federal laws regulating private sector labor relations, parallel issues addressed in the Railway Labor Act and state public sector labor relations law will also be covered. Specific topics include the legal framework for the organization of workers, definition of prohibited or unfair labor practices of employers and unions, legal regulation of the collective bargaining process, regulation of the use of economic weapons in labor disputes, enforcement of collective bargaining agreements, and the regulation of internal trade union activities.

Labor: Power, Policy, and the Global Political Economy

This course is concerned with the nature and structure of the current global economy in connection with the political forces that seek to impact this structure. The course examines labor-capital relations within this context and their impact on social policies and on labor's international, national, and local options.

Union Leadership and Administration

This course will focus on the roles and challenges of union leadership in a changing environment. Topics will include the union leader’s roles as representative, organizer, and educator as well as administrative responsibilities within the union and the relationship with enterprise management in both adversarial and participatory situations. Options for leadership style and organizational models will be discussed and explored in both theory and practice. Leaders will develop their skills of motivation, speaking, strategic planning, and managing complex campaigns and diverse organizations.

U.S. Labor History

This course examines the history of work and the working class in the United States. It focuses on the transformation of the workplace; the evolution of working class consciousness and the development of the labor movement; the role of race, gender, and ethnicity in uniting or dividing the working class; and the nature of labor's relations with other social groups in the political arena. Particular emphasis on the political and economic conditions and strategies of the period when working class power was growing.