IR 8032
COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL LABOR MOVEMENTS
Winter Quarter, 1994
J. G. Scoville
Blegen Hall 420:::Mondays 1730-2100
The objective of IR 8032 is to explore the foundations of labor
movements in the political, social and economic processes of
societies undergoing change under tension. This will involve
readings, lectures, discussions, a group project, and a course
paper. The participants in this course will:
o write a brief review of two films to be shown on January 3;
o present to the group a succinct summary of the development
and salient characteristics of the industrial relations
arrangements of an industrialized country;
o write a paper (on the order of 10-15 pages) on an
international or comparative topic;
o participate in a group project under item 9(B) in the
syllabus, and
o participate in the discussions of the group.
There will be no final exam; papers (or extensive outlines for a
subsequent Plan B paper) are due at the last class. Because of the
unavoidable absence of the instructor on January 3 and the holiday
two weeks later, our last meeting will be on the Monday of Exam
Week, March 14, unless some other date better fits the needs of the
group. (Depending on the size and schedules of the class, our
regular meetings might also be rescheduled.)
Grading will be as follows: Film reviews, 5%; "Country paper" (oral
presentation, any handouts, etc.), 30%; Term paper, 35%; Group
Project assigned under 9(B) below, 20%; participation, 10%.
The presentation of "country papers" will probably begin with the
session of January 31. A word of caution is needed about the vast
amounts of historical material which can often make these papers
very long while obscuring the important differences between
countries today: depending on the size of the class, figure that
you will have about half an hour to summarize the process of
evolution of each country to its present situation. We will choose
countries and fix dates at the session of January 10.
While the country presentation is, by its nature, largely
descriptive, it is intended that the term paper be more analytical.
Simple description will not do. (A suggestion about these papers:
consider the possibility of applying the quantitative methods that
most of you have studied to existing published data.) A list of
some past topics (actual or suggested) is attached to give you some
idea of what can be done.
The scheduled topics of the course with readings (and occasional
suggestions for further reading) are shown below.
COURSE SCHEDULE
1. January 3. Introduction, Orientation, and Administrivia
Syllabus will be distributed and 2 films ("Global Assembly
Line" and "Factory and Market Place Revolution) will be shown.
Please write a 3 to 4 page review of these films: we will begin
the class of Jan. 10 with a discussion of them.
Michael Poole, Industrial Relations, chs. 1, 2.
John T. Dunlop, Industrial Relations Systems, pp. 1-32.
2. January 10. (A) The LDC's of 200 Years Ago
(B) Governments and Labor
Vincent J. Knapp, Europe in the Era of Social
Transformation: 1700 - Present, pp. 17-107; 135-164.
Adolf Sturmthal, Unity and Diversity in European Labor,
Chs.1,2.
.......
Gaston V. Rimlinger, "Labor and the Government: A
Comparative Historical Perspective," Journal of Economic
History, Vol. 37, March 1977, p. 210-229.
[.] January 17. MLK Day: no class.
3. January 24. (A) Towards a Theory of the Labor Movement
(B) Industrial Relations Systems
Sturmthal and Scoville (eds.). The International Labor
Movement in Transition, pp. 1-33; 58-78.
S. M. Lipset, "Radicalism or Reformism: Sources of Working
Class Politics", APSR, March, 1983.
.......
Noah Meltz, "Dunlop's Industrial Relations Systems after
three decades," in Roy Adams (ed.), Comparative Industrial
Relations.
4. January 31. The Data Base - Surveys of National Industrial
Relations Arrangements
For discussion in class, countries should be drawn from the
following list: United Kingdom, Germany, France,
Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Japan, and Australia.
Canada, the earlier "Yugoslav model" and whatever remains of
it, Israel, the former Soviet Union, Spain, and the smaller
European states have second-order priority. There are
numerous works on individual nations; check the Reference
Room. Detailed information on many countries is found in R.
Blanpain, ed., International Encyclopedia for Labour Law and
Labour Relations.
5. February 7. Continuation of Development of the Data Base
Focal countries and team memberships for 9(B) exercise should
be chosen no later than this session.
6. February 14. (A) "American exceptionalism" in Broader
Perspective
(B) Women's issues, roles, and institutions in
the Labor Movement: comparative
perspectives
Articles by M. Wallace (Newspapers), C. Pellegrini (Public
Transit), E. Kassalow (Steel) and discussions by W. Solomon
and J. Scoville, "Impact of World Recession on Labor relations,"
1984 IRRA Proc., pp. 325-59. A fuller version of the Kassalow
piece appears in Labour and Society, Sept. 1985.
Francis Maupain, "Federalism and international labour
Conventions," ILR, Nov.-Dec. 1987.
.......
Robert Husbands, "Sex Harassment Law in employment: an
international perspective," ILR 1992:6.
Francois Eyraud, "Equal Pay and the value of work in
industrial countries," ILR 1993:1.
Anne Trebilcock, "Strategies for Strengthening women's
participation in trade union leadership," ILR 1991:4.
Alice Cook, Val Lorwin, and Arlene Daniels, eds., Women
and Trade Unions in 11 Industrialized Countries,
ch. 1.
7. February 21. (A) The Shape and Control of Conflict
(B) Modifications and Alternatives to "Capitalist
Management"
Douglas A. Hibbs, "Industrial Conflict in Advanced Industrial
Societies," The American Political Science Review, Vol. LXX,
December 1976, pp. 1033-1058.
Poole, ch. 6
.......
Scoville, "Organizing Our Thoughts About Workers'
Participation," Labour and Society, Vol. 5, No. 3, July,
1980, pp. 255-265.
E.Kassalow, "Industrial Democracy and Collective Bargaining:
A Comparative View," Labour and Society, Vol. 7, No. 3,
July-September 1982, pp. 209-229.
"Workplace Justice" session in 1993 IRRA Proceedings.
Roy Adams, "Universal Joint Regulation: A moral imperative,"
1990 IRRA Proceedings.
8. February 28 (A) The International Movement of Human Resources
(B) Transnational Problems and Organizations,
including the ILO
Ron Bean, Comparative Industrial Relations, ch. 8
Georges Minet, "Spectators or Participants? Immigrants and
Industrial Relations in Western Europe," International Labour
Review, Vol. 117, January-February, 1978, pp. 21-35.
S. Castles and G. Kosack, Immigrant Workers and Class
Structure in Western Europe, ch. II, "Migration to Western
Europe." A descriptive chapter.
.......
Lloyd Ulman, "Multinational Unionism: Incentives, Barriers,
and Alternatives," Industrial Relations, Vol. 14, February,
1975, pp. 1-31.
Stephen Schlossberg, "United States Participation in the ILO:
Redefining the Role," Comparative Labor Law Journal, Fall
1989, pp. 48-80.
9. March 7. (A) Distribution of Results
(B) Close-up on Health and Retirement Systems
Depending on the number of students in the course, we
will have one or more comparative reports on a key
"workers' issue"---the provision of health care. The
central issues are availability, the delivery system,
and the financing of the system.
Poole, ch. 8.
10. March 14 (A) Labor issues in Developing Areas
(B) Perspective and Overview (including brief
discussion of your papers)
Bean, chs. 9, 10
Scoville, "Social Tensions, Labor Market Conditions, and
Industrial Conflict," in Japan Institute of Labour, Social
Tensions and Industrial Relations Arising in the Industrial
Relations Processes of Asian Countries, 1979 Asian Regional
conference on IR.
Scoville, "Industrial Conflict in Africa: A look at the
1980s," Nigerian J. of I. R., 1989.
Tayo Fashoyin, "Recent Trends in Industrial Relations
Research and Theory in Developing countries," in Roy Adams (ed.),
Comparative Industrial Relations
Michel Bonnet, "Child Labour in Africa," ILR, 1993:3.
Poole, ch. 9
.......
Thomas Kirkwood and Horst Mewes. "The Limits of Trade Union
Power in the Capitalist Order: The Case of West German
Labour's quest for codetermination," British Journal of
Industrial Relations, Vol. XIV, November 1976, pp. 295-305.
Johannes Schregle. "Comparative Industrial Relations:
Pitfalls and Potential," International Labour Review, Vol.
120, January-February 1981, pp. 15-30.
J. Due, J. S. Madsen and C. Stroby-Jensen, "The Social
Dimension: Convergence or diversification of IR in the Single
European Market?" IRJ, 22:2, summer 1991.
Everett Kassalow, "Trade Unions and Industrial relations,
Toward the 21st Century," Bulletin of Comparative Labor
Relations #16, 1987.
*****
To facilitate thinking about seminar papers, here are examples of
topics that could be used or have been used. While most of the
topics are historical (reflecting data and literature likely to be
available) and labor-relations related, you will note that some are
based in comparative personnel and HRM. You should feel free to
write a paper from any part of the broad field of IR---just so long
as it is comparative.
Effects of Migrant or "guest" Workers in (Country) on Wages,
Industrial Relations, etc.
Impacts of Codetermination in Germany
Scandinavian Proposals for Worker Stock Funds, etc.
Modernization and Dockworkers (or Printers and Compositors, or
Railway Workers, or many others) in (Country)
Party/Union Relationships in ___________
The Structure of Collective Bargaining in the (Industry) in
Countries A, B, C
The Passage and Repeal of the British Industrial Relations Act of
1971
Costs and Benefits (to Worker and Union) of Settling certain
Questions in Various Countries (e.g., Comparative Costs and
Benefits of U.S. Arbitration, German Labor Courts and French
conseils de Prud'hommes)
Absenteeism Levels in Various Industries in Various Countries
Labor Market Adjustment Programs in Various Countries
Earlier Experiments with International Trade Union or Labor
Activity
Union Attitudes to Job Enlargement in Norway, Britain and the U.S.
(or A, B, C)
Approaches to Occupational Health and Safety Legislation (etc.,
etc.) in A, B, C
Family Allowances and the rise of female labor force participation
Sex Discrimination Legislation in (Country)
Systems of Pay in (Industry) in various countries
The structure and components of compensation in X
Multinational Collective Bargaining Prospects in the
Industry
Comparable Worth in International Perspective
Comparative Rule of Government in Fixing Benefits in the U.S. and
Another Country
Protective Labor Legislation in A, B, C
Effects of Works Councils on Personnel Practice in W. Germany
Selected Personnel Practices in the MNC
Training and Development practices in X, Y, Z
Use and Validation of Tests in A, B, C
Safety (including worker compensation) rules/practices in _____
Rev. 1-3-94