2014-2015 Academic Catalog

Nov 15, 2024

2014-2015 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

MGMT 030 - Collective Bargaining: The American Way

This seminar examines how unions and employers do collective bargaining in America. Collective bargaining is the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment for a group of workers by their chosen representative (the labor union) and the employer. Bargaining usually ends with the approval and signing of legally-binding collective bargaining agreements. There are about 180,000 collective bargaining agreements in the United States, covering about 16 million workers. Compared to bargaining in Europe and Asia, American-style collective bargaining tends to be adversarial, theatrical, highly decentralized, (i.e., usually occurring on the single plant or company level rather than the industry or national level) and concessionary (as past bargaining patterns are broken and settlements are often for wage or benefit freezes and roll-backs). Moreover, in America we have a system of ‘free collective bargaining”– unions and employers are free to settle on whatever terms they want, even those that may be economically disastrous, provided the terms of the settlement are legal. In this seminar, students will participate in a series of bargaining simulations, watch and discuss films about unionism and bargaining in the United States and abroad, and write a research paper that analyzes a prominent example of collective bargaining and its outcomes.

This course will introduce first-year students to collective bargaining in America. Students will examine the historical and legal foundations of collective bargaining and union representation, the theory and practice of negotiations and contract enforcement, the evolution of contemporary concession bargaining, and the pragmatic and highly decentralized system of collective bargaining that has become hallmark of American bargaining. Comparisons will be made to collective bargaining in Europe and Asia.

Program of Liberal Studies (PLS) Designation: GP

Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall 2014