At least 150 words per question
1. Discuss varieties of management strategy toward unions in terms of Budd’s schools of thought about the employment relationship. How would proponents of the different schools suggest business should respond to unions, and why? Assess the merits of the arguments the various schools would make. Incorporate other course readings in your response as necessary.
2. Discuss the Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order. Refer to specific key events, incorporating
ideas and perspectives drawn from Andrias, the Podcast, and/or KKC where appropriate.
Discuss how the story of the Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order relates to the KKC model,
meaning how it has informed our analysis of collective bargaining throughout the semester.
3. Throughout the semester, we have seen how the “external environment,” including law, public opinion, and public policy, shapes the conditions under which unionized employees and management bargain. Write an essay discussing the role of the external environment in forming a union and in determining the relative bargaining power of unionized employees and employers. Who does the external environment favor? Why? In what way? What, if any, changes would you propose. Be sure in your response to refer concretely to material from the union organizing and bargaining power topic.
4. Write an essay applying the KKC model to analyze the Barnhouse simulation. What were the main issues in the simulation, for labor and/or management? How does the model help us understand the outcomes? How did the best teams use the model to find the most advantageous outcomes? Refer to material from the simulation and from lectures and readings to back up your claims.
5. Take a stance on public sector unionism. In your essay, be sure to define the public sector,
outline some of the ways that it is different than the private sector and discuss why public sector unions have been a source of controversy in the recent past. Address the following questions: Should union security agreements be different in the public sector than in the private sector? Why or why not?; Why do labor relations folks see hope in the public sector? Why do neoliberals feel unions are even more inappropriate in the public sector than they are in the private? Your answer should be presented as an argumentative essay that touches organically on as many of these points as possible.
