LIR 858
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Spring, 2010
Richard N. Block
428 S. Kedzie Hall
517-353-3896
block@msu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
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 provide students with a simulation experience negotiating a collective
bargaining agreement.
7.
To give students some exposure to collective bargaining systems outside the
United States
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)
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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).
Richard N. Block, Ed., Bargaining for Competitiveness: Law, Research, and Case
Studies, Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2003
(hereinafter cited as Block).
LIR 858 Coursepack, Spring, 2010, available through Dollarbill Copying at Student
Bookstore, 417 E. Grand River Avenue, East Lansing
Course Work/Grading:
There will be no exams in the course. The assignments in the class represent a mixture
of individual papers, group projects, and group and individual presentations. The
required work assignments and their weights are listed below. Additional information
about the assignments is provided at the end of this syllabus. This includes specific
hints on standards for grading. Final grades are in increments of 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, etc., but
assignment grades contain finer gradations.
10% Required Paper: Perspectives on collective bargaining (3 pages)
30% Short paper option (3 pages on any two of seven possible topics due on specified
dates -- each paper is 15% of the final grade)
15% In-class group debate (group grade for one of 7 possible debate topics)
15% Required Paper: Contract comparison (3 pages)
20% Forms and settlement report for bargaining exercise (group grades)
10% Required Paper: Reflections on collective bargaining (3 pages)
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 me.
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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)
Course Overview and Introduction
Class experiences with collective bargaining and industrial relations.
Bruce Kaufman, 1993. “The Origins of Industrial Relations” and “The Schism in
Industrial Relations” (LIR 858 Coursepack).
January 20 (Week 2)
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”
Richard Hyman. 1975. "What is Industrial Relations?" (LIR 858 Coursepack)
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)
January 27 (Week 3)
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"
1Dates
for topics are subject to change. Dates for debates and the mock bargaining
and the due dates for assignments are not subject to change.
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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)
Richard N. Block, and Dale Belman, “Competitiveness and Employment Protection and
Creation,” in Block.
Dale Belman and Richard N. Block, “The Impact of Collective Bargaining on
Competitiveness and Employment,” in Block
February 3 (Week 4)
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)
Janice Fine, “Origins and Characteristics of Worker Centers” (LIR 858
Coursepack)
February 10 (Week 5)
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)
Yates, Michael, “Chapter 4 Collective Bargaining” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Charles Loughran, 1993, “Costing Contract Demands, Offers, and Settlements” (LIR
858 Coursepack)
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February 17 (Week 6)
The Outcomes of Collective Bargaining: The Collective Bargaining Agreement
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Ch. 10, “Contract Terms and Employment”
February 24 (Week 7)
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)
March 3 (Week 8)
Models of Collective Bargaining Relationships: Conflict and Cooperation
Block, Beck, and Kruger, Chapter 3,
Richard N. Block, “Basic Aluminum;” Michael L. Moore and Richard N. Block,
“Automobile Parts,” Michael J. Polzin and Peter Berg, “Health Care,” in Block.
Block and Berg, “Joint Responsibility Unionism: A Multiplant Model of Collective
Bargaining Under Employment Security.” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
March 10
Spring Break
March 17 (Week 9)
Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chap. 13, “Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector”
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Kate Bronfrenbrenner and Tom Juravich, 1994, “The Impact of Employer Opposition on
Union Certification Win Rates” (LIR 858 Coursepack)
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)
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)
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)
Flex date for rescheduling topics due to guest speakers or no class to prepare for
collective bargaining
April 7 (Week 12)
Mock Negotiations
April 14 (Week 13)
Mock Negotiations
April 21 (Week 14)
Class Reports on Mock Negotiations
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April 28 (Week 15)
Other Systems of Industrial Relations: The United States, Canada, Europe, Asia
Katz, Kochan, and Colvin, Chap 14 “International and Comparative Industrial Relations”
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)
EPI Briefing Paper: Unions , the Economy, and Employee Free Choice by Harley
Shaiken. (LIR 858 Coursepack)
Web Memo: “Employee Free Choice Act would Disenfranchise 105 Million Workers.”
(LIR 858 Coursepack)
May 1 (Finals Week)
Final Paper Due
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