LABR 304 - Unions and Labor Relations (4 Credits)

Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on unions and their role in labor-management relations. Students will examine the purpose, structure and function and governance of unions in the United States. Emphasis will be placed on how unions function in the collective bargaining process and in contract administration. Topics will include: sources and uses of bargaining power, the negotiation process, the content and language of labor contracts, and the role and function of grievance procedures and labor arbitrations. The study of union and labor relations will be studied in the context of a capitalist economy, and throughout the course, comparisons will be made between the private and public sectors, between craft and industrial model unionism, and between US models of unions and those in other parts of the world.