LIR 858
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Spring, 2011
Instructors
Peter B. Berg, 411 S. Kedzie Hall,517-432-4771, bergp@msu.edu
Richard N. Block, 428 S. Kedzie Hall, 517-353-3896, block@msu.edu
Dale L. Belman. 407 S. Kedzie Hall, 517-353-3905, drdale@msu.edu
William N. Cooke, 403 S. Kedzie Hall, 5217-353-1801, cookew@msu.edu
Richard Block will serve as course administrator.
Course Goals:
1.
To provide an overview of the role of collective bargaining in employment
relations and in society.
2.
To provide an understanding of the legal, economic, organizational, political, and
societal constraints in which collective bargaining in the United States operates,
and the changes in those constraints.
3.
To develop an understanding of the process of collective bargaining in the United
States, with a special focus on the variety within the collective bargaining system.
4.
To provide an understanding of the most important issues with which the parties
to collective bargaining in the United States must deal.
5.
To understand the effects of collective bargaining on various outcomes (firm
performance, wages).
6.
To learn how to craft and negotiate labor-management agreements.
7.
To give students some exposure to collective bargaining systems outside the
United States
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Course Textbooks:
Harry Katz,Thomas Kochan, and Alexander Colvin, An Introduction to Collective
Bargaining and Industrial Relations, Fourth Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008
(hereinafter cited as Katz, Kochan, and Colvin)
Richard N. Block, John Beck, and Daniel H. Kruger, Labor Law, Industrial Relations,
and Employee Choice Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research,
1996 (hereinafter cited as Block, Beck, and Kruger).
LIR 858 Coursepack, Spring, 2011, available through Dollarbill Copying at Student
Bookstore, 417 E. Grand River Avenue, East Lansing
Course Work/Grading:
30% Short paper (3 pages on any two of seven possible topics due on specified dates
-- each paper is 15% of the final grade) [Send to Prof. Block]
15% In-class group debate (group grade for one of 4 possible debate topics)
15% Required Paper: Contract comparison (3 pages) [Send to Prof. Block]
20% Bargaining exercise (group grades)
20% Final Examination
There will be no deferred grades or incompletes given for the course. If you require
accommodation for religious, disability, or other purposes, please make an appointment
to discuss the matter with Rich Block.
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COURSE TOPICS1
(NOTE: With notice to students, dates and topics may change depending on the
availability of possible guest speakers.)
January 13 (Week 1), Berg
Course Overview and Introduction
Class experiences with collective bargaining and industrial relations.
January 20 (Week 2), Belman and Berg
Theoretical Framework and Historical Context
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chs. 1-2, “A Framework for Analyzing Collective Bargaining
and Industrial Relations” and The Historical Evolution of the U.S. Industrial Relations
System”
John Budd, 2004, “Objectives of the Employment Relationship" (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Biel and Wickerstam. 1967. “An Interpretation of American Union History” (LIR 858
Coursepack)
John R. Commons, American Shoemaker, 1648-1895” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Bruce Kaufman, 1993. “The Origins of Industrial Relations” and “The Schism in
Industrial Relations” (LIR 858 Coursepack).
1Dates
for topics are subject to change. Dates for the mock bargaining and the due
dates for assignments are not subject to change.
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January 27 (Week 3) Block
Discussion of contract comparison paper
The Contexts of Bargaining: Legal, Social, Economic, Political
Block, Beck, and Kruger, Ch. 1, "Introduction and Overview"
Block, Ch. 2, Richard N. Block, “Competitiveness and Employment Protection and
Creation”
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Ch. 4, "The Role of the Environment"
Richard N. Block, Peter Berg, and Dale Belman, 2004, “The Economic Dimension of the
Employment Relationship (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Charles Craypo, “Sources of Union Bargaining Power” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
February 3 (Week 4) Berg
The Actors in Collective Bargaining: Employers and Unions
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Ch. 5 and 6, "Management Strategies and Structures for
Collective Bargaining" and ”Union Strategies and Structures for Representing Workers”
Christopher Schenk. 2004. “Social Movement Unionism: Beyond the Organizing Model.”
(LIR 858 Coursepack)
Budd, John. “When do U.S. Workers First Experience Unionization? Implications for
Revitalizing the Labor Movement,” Industrial Relations. Vo. 49, no.2 (April 2010). [Find on
line]
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Union organizer visit (tentative)
February 10 (Week 5) Belman
The Organizing Process; The Negotiation Process
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chap. 7-8, "Union Organizing and Bargaining Structures" and
The Negotiations Process and Strikes”
Block, Beck, and Kruger, Chapters. 2, 4.
Richard Walton, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, and Robert McKersie, “A Theory of
Strategic Negotiations” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Charles Loughran, 1993, “Costing Contract Demands, Offers, and Settlements” (LIR
858 Coursepack)
February 17 (Week 6) Block and debate
Contract Administration: Grievance Procedures and Arbitration
Ch. 11, Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, "Administering the Employment Relationship"
Richard B. Peterson and David Lewin, “Research on Unionized Grievance Procedures:
Management Issues and Recommendations” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
February 24 (Week 7) Professor Michael Polzin or PIERS
Models of Collective Bargaining Relationships: Conflict and Cooperation
Block, Beck, and Kruger, Chapter 3,
Block and Berg, “Joint Responsibility Unionism: A Multiplant Model of Collective
Bargaining Under Employment Security.” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
March 3 (Week 8) Belman and Debate
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The Outcomes of Collective Bargaining: The Collective Bargaining Agreement
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Ch. 10, “Contract Terms and Employment”
March 10
Spring Break
March 17 (Week 9) Belman
Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chap. 13, “Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector”
Richard Freeman, 1996, “Through Public Sector Eyes: Employee Attitudes Toward
Public Sector Labor Relations in the United States” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
March 24 (Week 10) Block and Debate
Perspectives and Current Issues in Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations
Thomas A. Kochan, 2001, “Can the U.S. Industrial Relations System be Transformed?”
(LIR 858 Coursepack)
Kate Bronfrenbrenner and Tom Juravich, 1994, “The Impact of Employer Opposition on
Union Certification Win Rates” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Chris Benner and Amy Dean, “Labor in the New Economy: Lesson from Labor
Organizing in Silicon Valley” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Joel, Steven Sleigh, and Frits Pil. “Collective Bargaining: Keeping
Score on a Great American Institution.” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
March 31 (Week 11) Berg and Debate
Other Systems of Industrial Relations: The United States, Canada, Europe, Asia
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chap 14 “International and Comparative Industrial Relations”
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Harry C. Katz, 1993, “The Decentralization of Collective Bargaining: A Literature Review
and Comparative Analysis” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Frege, Heery, and Turner: “The New Solidarity? Trade Union Coalition-Building in Five
Countries.” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Web Memo: “Employee Free Choice Act would Disenfranchise 105 Million Workers.”
(LIR 858 Coursepack)
April 7-April 28, Cooke
Negotiating Labor-Management Agreements for Competitive Advantage: The Primo
Plastic & ASPRW Simulated Negotiations Case
The objective of this four-week simulated negotiation exercise is to expose you to a
comprehensive framework that identifies the multiple linkages between collective
bargaining strategies and broader HRM, operational and business strategies. Blending
interest-based and classical approaches to negotiations, you will learn about the
essential processes and tactical decisions underlying the key stages of negotiating
agreements. Through this life-like simulated exercise, you will gain hands-on
experience covering (a) the analysis, framing and formulation of negotiation strategies
and (b) the behavioral dynamics underlying the steps and processes of effectively
negotiating labor-management agreements in a contemporary context.
May 1 (Finals Week)
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