Public Sector Labour Relations in the United States: Austerity, Politics and Policy

Public sector unions around the world are under threat from political forces. Combined, the financial crisis and austerity measures have challenged public sector unions' legitimacy. In the U.S., the postrecession assault on public sector unions is rooted in political ideology, with not only a widening polarization along the liberal-conservative spectrum playing a key role, but cultural cognition and economic downturn, too. This research provides a comparative historical analysis of changes in public sector collective bargaining rights at state and local levels in 50 states. The article describes the variations in public sector industrial relations at the state and local levels in the short and medium term. It also proposes a theoretical model to explain similar and diverging patterns which can be observed across the states.Gewerkschaften des öffentlichen Dienstes sehen weltweit ihre Legitimation in Frage gestellt und sind bedroht durch politische Gegner, die Finanzkrise und Sparmaßnahmen. In den USA wurzelt der Angriff auf die Gewerkschaften des öffentlichen Dienstes in politischer Ideologie, insbesondere der zunehmenden Polarisierung im liberal-konservativen Spektrum, dem Feld der kulturellen Kognition und des wirtschaftlichen Abschwungs. Der Beitrag liefert eine historisch-komparative Analyse der Veränderungen Rechte des collective bargaining im öffentlichen Dienst auf staatlicher und lokaler Ebene aller 50 Staaten der USA. Dabei werden die kurz- und mittelfristigen Veränderungen der industriellen Beziehungen des öffentlichen Dienstes auf staatlicher und lokaler Ebene beschrieben und darüber hinaus ein Modell zur Erklärung von Ähnlichkeiten und Abweichungen zwischen den Bundesstaaten vorgeschlagen

In the eye of the storm: Mediators' perspectives on resolving labor-management conflict.

The participant observation portion of my research involved attending the FMCS new mediator training program. This training program consisted of four intensive week-long training sessions. The interview data were derived from 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with the mediators as well as countless informal conversations that took place during the national conference and new mediator training sessions.I used the data collected from secondary sources, informal networking with dispute resolution professionals, participant observation, and qualitative interviews to develop a written survey. I distributed 185 surveys at the FMCS National Professional Development meeting. I received a total of 78 usable surveys, for a 42% response rate.The interviews and the participant observation suggested that the parties play a crucial role in the outcome of mediation, but the survey results found no direct effect of the parties on any dependent variable. These results are not as contradictory as they initially appear, as the regression results indicate that the parties exert an indirect effect on mediation outcomes. The participant observation and interview data concurred with the survey results indicating that there is no magic set of techniques and strategies which guarantee success.Some interesting results derived from the survey data include the following: (1) the "broad" and "narrow" approaches to mediation are complements to each other rather than substitutes for one another; (2) the survey data failed to establish a connection between the mediators' choice of techniques and strategies and the dependent variable of agreement on a contract; (3) the parties are less likely to seek the help of female mediators to improve their ongoing relationship.My dissertation examines the entire mediation process in the labor relations context to identify the determinants of successful mediation. This research makes several important methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions to the existing body of knowledge of mediation. Secondary data were derived from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's printed documents such as annual reports, task force reports, training manuals, and brochures describing the services provided by the agency. Using these data I was able to infer what factors the agency considers to be critical to mediation success

Insights from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

In recent years, mediation has become increasingly popular as a means to resolve conflict. One important issue that arises out of the recent explosive growth in the practice of mediation is. what do mediators need to know in order to assist the parties in resolving their conflicts? This research attemtps to identify the determinants of mediator competence by examining the knowledge, skills and abilities of mediators in public sector labor relations. The research focuses on the core competencies requirements for mediators with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and suggests which of the competencies may be applicable to mediation in other contexts.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Central-City/Suburban Inequality and Metropolitan Political Fragmentation

To test the proposition that metropolitan governmental structure has social, economic, and racial consequences, the authors assume that the proliferation of local governments in a metropolitan area and the boundary constraints imposed on the central city have adverse effects, especially on the core city. Analyzing 97 large U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), they found only limited support for this proposition. Of three measures of fragmentation, only two were of any consequence, one in the opposite direction predicted. The lower the central city’s share of MSA population, the higher the level of fiscal health for the inner city. Also, municipal boundaries have racial consequences.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline