12. The Future Lies Ahead (With Apology to Mort Sahl)

The progress and development of the ILR School during the past 50 years, though sometimes uneven in both pace and direction, has largely met the promise and expectations embodied in the founding legislation. The fulfillment of the legislative purpose testifies to the contributions of those many individuals and institutions with whom we have interacted over this period of astonishing growth in size, complexity of structure and programs, and recognized stature at home and abroad in both the academic and practitioner worlds

The Politics of the Education Reform Movement: Some Implications for the Future of Teacher Bargaining

[Excerpt] In summary, the ongoing battle over education reform and emerging demographic trends do not bode well for the success of reform efforts in this country and probably mean tougher, if nonetheless more interesting, days at the bargaining table. In recent years taxpayers have been willing to support increased expenditures for public education. But sooner or later taxpayers will want to see results. Both liberal and conservative politicians have been staunch supporters of the school reform movement, but politicians are a notoriously fickle group. To improve the quality of education, we need a sustained effort over an indefinite period of time. We need patience and resolve. But as the task of improving education gets tougher and tougher, many politicians are likely to turn their attention to other targets of opportunity. It may be that we are currently at the peak of the school reform movement — that the movement has crested and will recede in the face of political squabbles and frustrated hopes

Conflict Resolution and the Transformation of the Social Contract

[Excerpt] Here is my argument in a nutshell. Beginning more than thirty years ago, the social contract that had governed relations between workers and employers in the United States for the period following World War II began to unravel. Other scholars, most notably Tom Kochan, Harry Katz, and Bob McKersie, have charted the transformation of American industrial relations that began in the 1970s and to a great extent continues today (Kochan et al. 1986). Seeber and I have argued that the emerging social contract that had been produced by the transformation of U.S. industrial relations has had particularly profound consequences for the handling of workplace conflict. To a degree, the rise of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been the most obvious manifestation of how workplace conflict is handled under the new social contract. But our research has led us to believe that there is a much deeper, systemic shift that is occurring in the management of workplace conflict. We have focused on a development that moves conflict resolution significantly beyond ADR—we have emphasized the significance of the emergence of so-called integrated conflict management systems (Lipsky et al. 2003, Lipsky and Seeber 2003)

The Future of Conflict Management Systems

This article acknowledges Chris Merchant’s contribution to the development of the concept of a conflict management system (CMS). It discusses the relationship between a CMS and a closely related concept, an integrated conflict management system (ICMS), which is a more comprehensive or integrated approach to conflict management. The article reports on surveys of Fortune 1000 corporations that show that the implementation of a CMS in these corporations rose from 17 percent in 1997 to about 30 percent in 2011. Chris Merchant expressed optimism about the future of conflict management systems. Although her vision of the future of conflict management systems has not yet been fulfilled, one can hope that if these systems provide not only organizational efficiency but also workplace justice, her optimism will one day be justified

Resolving Workplace Conflict: The Alternative Dispute Resolution Revolution and Some Lessons We Have Learned

The U.S. industrial relations system has undergone a historic transformation over the past three decades. One of the most significant features of that transformation has been the dramatic rise of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a means of addressing workplace conflict. ADR can be defined as the use of arbitration, mediation, and other third- party techniques instead of litigation to resolve workplace disputes. In the view of some experts, the rapid diffusion of ADR in employment relations, especially in the non-union sector, has represented nothing less than a revolution in dispute resolution. The ADR revolution has spread to many other types of disputes, including family, consumer, construction, and financial disputes. In many ways, transferring the resolution of workplace disputes from public to private forums constitutes the de facto privatization of the American system of justice

Introduction to \u3ci\u3eThe ILR School at Fifty: Voices of the Faculty, Alumni, and Friends\u3c/i\u3e

[Excerpt] Today the school\u27s faculty is as strong as it has ever been. It consists of renowned researchers and accomplished practitioners who are, at the same time, dedicated to their students and to classroom teaching. Our students are outstanding—so outstanding that I wonder if I could be admitted if I were applying today! Our extension and outreach programs serve 30,000 adults every year and are the envy of all our academic competitors. As we look to the future we know we have a solid foundation on which to build. In dreams begin responsibilities. The dream that Irving Ives and a handful of others had over half a century ago ultimately became the preeminent institution of its type in the world. I have had the honor and privilege of being the first ILR alumnus to serve as dean of the school, and I am acutely conscious of the profound responsibility borne by all of us who love the school—the responsibility to preserve the great legacy of the last 50 years by ensuring that the school is well prepared for the 21st century

1. Introduction

From the introduction, by David Lipsky, “In dreams begin responsibilities. The dream that Irving Ives and a handful of others had over half a century ago ultimately became the preeminent institution of its type in the world. I have had the honor and privilege of being the first ILR alumnus to serve as dean of the school, and I am acutely conscious of the profound responsibility borne by all of us who love the school-the responsibility to preserve the great legacy of the last 50 years by ensuring that the school is well prepared for the 21st century. Includes: Changes in the Curriculum; Changes in the Workplace; Change and Continuity; Growth; Response to Danger; and Fulfillment of a Dream

Employment and Unemployment Statistics in Collective Bargaining: Discussion

[Excerpt] This writer can\u27t see the potential in the establishment survey data that Mills sees —at least, not for collective bargaining purposes. First, the sample can never be made large enough, except at prohibitive cost, to include a sufficient cross-section of unionized firms. Granted, union and management representatives have some interest in what is happening in nonunion firms; but this writer would guess their principal interest is in what is happening in comparable unionized relationships. Second, the establishment survey is a good source of information on average hourly earnings and the like, but it is hard to believe it provides information on wage rates and scales. Union and management officials are probably more interested in negotiated wage rates than in actual earnings data. Third, as far as this writer knows, the Establishment Survey provides absolutely no information on the multitude of other matters that typically concern the parties: vacation and holiday schedules, leave provisions, seniority and job security measures, etc. These are additional reasons why this writer believes expansion of the BLS collective bargaining contract series would have a bigger payoff to the parties and to researchers than the measures Professor Mills recommends

Current Research on Industrial Relations Regulation, Bargaining Theory, Progressive Discipline, and Occupational Influences on Unionism

We are pleased to be able to present, in this third volume of the Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations series, some original, important, and in some cases provocative research on industrial relations regulation, bargaining theory, progressive discipline, and occupational influences on unionism. In what follows we will briefly review each of the papers in the volume and pinpoint what we believe to be the major contributions each makes to the advancement of research in industrial relations. Where relevant, we will also mention questions left unresolved by the research at hand and potential directions for future research on the subjects under study

Joint Labor-Management Training Programs for Healthcare Worker Advancement and Retention

[Excerpt] Filling vacancies and retaining workers in shortage areas such as nursing and other allied health occupations remains a challenge in today’s healthcare industry. At the same time, low-wage workers in the healthcare industry often lack the educational credentials necessary to move into higher-paying occupations. This study seeks to understand the role of multi-employer joint labor-management healthcare worker training in meeting the needs of employers for career ladder advancement in their incumbent workforce. The study focuses on hospital employers and their experience with strategies for the advancement of low-wage and entry level workers into healthcare career pathways