Course Descriptions

Critical challenges facing workers, employers, labor organizations, and the public with regard to work and employee representation.

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Definition of a research question; literature reviews; effective research search techniques; case-study and survey research methods.  Basic statistical skills, data analysis, and presentation.

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Creation of articulate, persuasive written documents of the type needed in professional positions in employment relations; construction of an argument; intensive, individualized instruction; ESL students particularly welcome.

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Applied analytical and statistical tools for solving problems at work, surveying employees, and maintaining quality.  Projects are individual/group and spreadsheet-intensive.

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Leadership theory and its application to work organizations, including unions, non-profits and businesses.  Leadership of small groups and large organizations; leadership diversity and development.

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Negotiation strategy and tactics including positional, interest-based, and other theoretical approaches; rights, power, leverage, concessions, commitment; applications include business and labor contexts; negotiation skill development.
 

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The historical evolution and current state of employment relations theory. Workplace democracy, the source of workplace conflict, alienation, the evolution of class, collective bargaining, and other issues are discussed from a variety of perspectives.

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Overview of methods used to investigate the competitive situation/prognosis of an industry's employers, profitability, sales, employment, wages, and unionization; strategic corporate research.

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Micro facilitation skill development; effective group decision-making or problem-solving event design; moderator behavior allowing a group to identify and achieve its goals.

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The democratization of politics and the emergence of workers as citizens; the political role of workers in contemporary U.S. society. The political ideology of American labor and its impact on electoral politics, on voting patterns, and on political participation.

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Fostering an inclusive workplace; issues related to race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and other aspects of diversity in work organizations.

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Theory of emotional intelligence and its effects on employee performance and organizational success; research on the development of emotional intelligence; self-awareness and self-development.

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How employees can advance their careers given the changing nature of work and organizations; skill assessment/development, career progression, and work/life balance; intergenerational, gender, and racial/ethnic issues.
 

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Labor standards enforcement in theory and practice, wages, hours, overtime, and healty/safety violations; diverse strategies for improved enforcement, including involving worker organizations.
 

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Theories of workplace conflict. Critical review and analysis of dispute resolution techniques in union and nonunion workplaces.

Overview of benefits with a focus on social insurance systems, health insurance, and pensions. Emphasis on public policy issues of importance to both unions and employers.
 

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Contemporary immigration law in the U.S.; employer compliance issues; employee rights; immigrant employee representation and related policy debates.

Scope and nature of public employment; organizations of public employees; problems and issues of federal, state, county, and municipal employees; special problems of particular groups; emerging patterns of future development.
 

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The role of immigrant labor in contemporary society and accompanying public policy debates. Theories of migration, history of migration and migration policy in the United States; labor market dynamics in immigrant-dominated industries. Existing employment and labor rights of immigrant workers. Community, labor, and immigrant organizations’ efforts to improve wages, working conditions, and immigration policy.

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Economic policy options around the globe; governments and markets; macro- and micro-level approaches; fiscal and monetary policies; competition and social protection: trade; labor; income inequality.
 

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Using a global perspective across different sports and related businesses, examination of union-management relations; individual talent; diversity; and safety-health issues.

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Study of the impact of globalization and corporate restructuring on individuals, communities, jobs, work systems, organizations and the economy.

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How women are organizing worldwide for gender justice and an improved quality of life; how changing labor movements are addressing gender issues.
 

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Corporate governance issues; financial statement analysis; and cost accounting for collective bargaining and workplace management.
 

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Financial analysis in the HR context. Cost analysis of HR and HR programs. Cost/benefit analysis, organizational finance issues and HRM.

An analysis of women’s experiences and status in a range of work settings; an evaluation of legal, institutional, and public policy responses to issues such as the segregation of work by race and gender, pay equity, the feminization of poverty, sexual harassment, and the restructuring of work and family roles.
 

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This course addresses research design methodology and addresses basic statistics through regression analysis.

Theoretical and practical issues in organization change, including the rationale for change, why change succeeds or fails; effective leadership of change, and ethical concerns.
 

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Processes through which organizations learn or fail to learn; designing methods of education, training and development that encourage organizational learning; theories of organizational and managerial cognition.
 

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The statutes and case law that create the framework for private-sector labor management relations, with special attention to current workplace developments and the public policy debates that continue to reshape American labor law.
 

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Social construction of identity and the consequences for contemporary diversity outcomes; intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other forms of identity.
 

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Changes in the global economy and their effects on living standards, job opportunities, and the bargaining power of American workers and their unions. Role of international labor organizations, transnational corporations, and global financial institutions in global economic change. Strategies for dealing with globalization.

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Considers diverse modes of involving employee in decision-making and reorganizing work for flexibility, service, and better use of advanced technology. Assess options, consequences, and the responses of organized workers.
 

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An overview of the nonunion workplace encompassing both research and practice; covers surveys of employee attitudes, key issues, alternative vehicles of employee voice, conflict, and the use of new workplace practices.
 

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Diverse models of workplace democratization on the job and at the strategic policy level, including joint governance, employee involvement, collective bargaining, employee ownership, worker cooperatives, and self-management.
 

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Hands on look at how people can take action together by creating organizations; recruiting members; analyzing and building power; designing campaigns; and developing winning strategies.
 

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Unions, collective bargaining, and alternative forms of worker representation in the U.S.  Overview of both conventional forms of union membership, negotiations, labor law, dispute resolution, and emerging representation and advocacy strategies.

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Comparison of employment relations systems in selected countries; how labor movements outside the U.S. marshal political and economic resources to represent worker’s interests.

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Departures from traditional patterns of collective bargaining and labor-management relationships more generally. Causal factors leading to innovative practices. The current debate over the future of collective bargaining. Models for expanding the scope of bargainable issues.
 

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Covers the changing nature of the work force, including diversity characteristics and attitudinal shifts. Focus on HRM tracking and gaining competitive advantage though judicious use of change.

Principles of law covering the employment relationship. Some legal issues may also be covered in HR application courses.

The development of public sector bargaining rights and the role of unions in the public sector. The course will analyze state and federal laws, dispute resolution procedures, and political initiatives, with a special emphasis on New Jersey.
 

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Changes in the workforce; how economic and social changes are reshaping categories of employees; their organizations and movements and their needs and desires. Uses both class and social movement perspectives to examine a variety of types of employees.
 

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Artificial intelligence, platforms, and other ongoing changes affecting the nature, availability, and rewards for work. Emerging alternatives to traditional employment. Alternative forms of representation and public policies for ameliorating related social problems.

Theory and practice of mediation in labor disputes, civil litigation and employment discrimination. Mediator qualification and ethics practices; cultural and inclusion issues. Comparison to arbitration, fact finding, conciliation, and negotiation.

The practice and policy implications of fact-finding, mediation, and interest arbitration in the public sector.
 

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Arbitration and grievance processes in contemporary U.S. workplaces with and without union representation. Includes an analysis of ongoing controversial public policy & legal issues.

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Patterns of union administration on a local, intermediate, and national level; effect of structure on the collective bargaining process; issues of internal democracy and membership participation in union affairs.
 

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Individually-directed study by a student under the direction of an individual faculty member.

Issues for online, mail, telephone, and in-person surveys given their intended use. Samples; item construction; scaling; measurement validity & reliability; improving response rates; ethical research.

Selected, timely topics in employment relations; particular topic to be announced.

The changing nature of work and its organization; the history of labor organizations and labor movements; the historical situation of major groups of nonrepresented employees; and the impact of changing government policies on employees, employers, and labor relations.
 

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Selected, timely topics in employment relations; particular topic to be announced.

Contemporary issues in labor and employment relations; particular topics to be announced.

Internship in a labor or community organization addressing employment issues; internship in a public or private sector management position dealing with labor and employment issues; or other supervised work experience related to the field.

Research or practice in a real work setting undergoing restructuring or organization change, with particular attention to the consequences for employees and the ways in which their interests can be represented.

Research or practice in labor education, management education, or joint extension programming; research or practice in workplace training or continuous learning programs.

Supervised research under the direction of an individual faculty member.