The Economics of Labor Relations: Unions and Management

While membership in American labor unions has been on the decline for decades, recent years have seen a resurgence of worker organizing across the United States. Almost every week brings new headlines about strikes or campaigns to form new unions in a variety of different industries, from auto manufacturing to healthcare to TV and movie production. This course will examine the subject of labor relations through the lens of economics by introducing some of the key tools that economists use to study interactions between workers and firms in the labor market. A major focus will be the role that collective bargaining can play in shaping the terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, benefits, and workplace health and safety protections.
 
Students will learn to define fundamental concepts in labor economics and labor-management relations, interpret theoretical models, and identify patterns in real-world data on labor market institutions and outcomes with the help of empirical methods. Class activities and exercises will offer hands-on perspectives on the subject matter, and will include an opportunity for students to practice negotiating their own collective bargaining agreement. Those who complete the course will come away with a greater understanding of how economists use theory and data to gain insight into the workings of the labor market and how unions function in the modern economy.