In the fall, we'll begin by looking at a crisis facing workers and unions that began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, corporate leaders decided that wages were too high and employees were too entitled to rights at work. With the cooperation of government officials, they set about to alter the legal and economic landscape. Unions now represent about half the portion of the work force that they did in the mid-1970s, and wages have fallen for millions. Why do employers resist union organizations? How did the role of government go from (at least in words) promoting collective bargaining to aiding its erosion? How did our labor laws come about in the 1930s, and how are they really used today? Why do wage workers seem to be losing power through court decisions and laws over time? What assumptions about power and privilege are contained in our labor law? These are some of the questions we'll look at in the fall, while learning basic techniques of legal research. Students will choose from a variety of project topics, studying current controversies in labor relations.

For the weekly schedule, see the links at the left.

Fall Books:

* Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back, by Thomas Geoghegan, New Press, 2004
* Understanding Labor Law (Legal Text Series), by Douglas E. Ray, Calvin William Sharpe, Robert N. Strassfeld Matthew Bender & Company, 1999
* Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by Stephen Elias, Susan Levinkind, Richard Stim. Nolo Press, 10th edition, 2002
* The Turbulent Years: A History of the American Worker 1933-1941, by Irving Bernstein, Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 13, and Epilogue (pp. 16-91; 172-351; 635-681; 768-798) Boston; Houghton Mifflin, 1971 (this rare book is NOT generally available for purchase. The required chapters will be available to borrow in the library, but you are encouraged to borrow the book through Summit or Interlibrary Loan.) * Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law, by James B. Atleson, Univ. of Massachusetts Press, 1984
* Organizing Guide for Local Unions, by Virginia Diamond, George Meany Center for Labor Studies, Washington, DC
* Plus, a reader of required chapters and articles which will be available for purchase in The Evergreen State College bookstore