Labor Law

This course will introduce the fundamentals of labor law in the United States, comparing the American approach with those of other advanced industrialized democracies. We will study the federal law governing employee collective action, including the law governing organizing, union elections, bargaining, tools of economic pressure, preemption of state law and arbitration. We will consider these essential elements of the industrial relations regime erected by the National Labor Relations Act in context. That is, we will consider the nature of work in a democratic society; the political and economic role of organized labor; historical and institutional explanations for American 'exceptionalism', and; the advantages and disadvantages of American labor law as compared to its alternatives. Throughout the course, students will conduct a series of simulation exercises in order to experience the strategies and dilemmas of organizing, collective bargaining and labor policy design.