Labor Studies Course Descriptions

P = prerequisite R = recommended
C = corequisite * = lab fee

Other/Advanced Courses

LSTU- L 100 Survey of Unions and Collective Bargaining (3 cr.) A survey of labor unions in the United States, focusing on their organization and their representational, economic, and political activities. Includes coverage of historical development, labor law basics, and contemporary issues.

LSTU-L 101 American Labor History (3 cr.) A survey of the origin and development of unions and the labor movement from colonial times to the present. The struggle of working people to achieve a measure of dignity and security is examined from social, economic, and political perspectives.

LSTU-L 110 Labor and Society (3 cr.) An introduction to the changing role of labor in society. The course will emphasize a comparative approach to issues confronting labor organizations.

LSTU-L 190 The Labor Studies Degree (1 cr.) Required of all DLS majors. This course will provide an introduction to the Labor Studies degree and to the knowledge and skills needed by students to progress toward a degree in a reasonable time frame. Students will learn how to build a plan of study that takes advantage of both credit for prior learning and new learning opportunities.

LSTU-L 199 Portfolio Development Workshop (1 cr.) Emphasis on developing learning portfolios as foundation documents for academic self-assessment and planning and as applications for self-acquired competency (SAC) credit. Applies only as elective credit to labor studies degrees.

LSTU-L 200 Survey of Employment Law (3 cr.) Statutes and common law actions protecting income, working conditions, and rights of workers. Topics include workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, fair labor standards, social security, retirement income protection, and privacy and other rights.

LSTU-L 201 Labor Law (3 cr.) A survey of the law governing labor-management relations. Topics include the legal framework of collective bargaining, problems in the administration and enforcement of agreements, protection of individual employee rights.

LSTU-L 203 Labor and the Political System (3 cr.) Federal, state, and local governmental effects on workers, unions, and labor-management relations; political goals; influences on union choices of strategies and modes of political participation, past and present; relationships with community and other groups.

LSTU-L 205 Contemporary Labor Problems (3 cr.) An examination of some of the major problems confronting society, workers, and the labor movement. Topics may include automation, unemployment, international trade, and conglomerates; environmental problems, minority and women's rights; community relations; changing government policies.

LSTU- L 210 Workplace Discrimination and Fair Employment (3 cr.) Examines policies and practices that contribute to workplace discrimination and those designed to eliminate discrimination. Explores effects of job discrimination and occupational segregation. Analyzes Title VII, ADA, and related topics in relation to broader strategies for addressing discrimination.

LSTU-L 220 Grievance Representation (3 cr.) Union representation in the workplace. The use of grievance procedures to address problems and administer the collective bargaining agreement. Identification, research, presentation, and writing of grievance cases. Analysis of relevant labor law and the logic applied by arbitrators to grievance decisions.

LSTU-L 230 Labor and the Economy (3 cr.) Analysis of the political economy of labor and the role of organized labor within it. Emphasis on the effect on workers, unions, and collective bargaining on unemployment, investment policy, and changes in technology and corporate structure. Patterns of union political and bargaining response.

LSTU-L 240 Occupational Health and Safety (3 cr.) Elements and issues of occupational health and safety. Emphasis on the union's role in the implementation of workplace health and safety programs, worker and union rights, hazard recognition techniques, and negotiated and statutory remedies-in particular the OSH Act of 1970.

LSTU-L 250 Collective Bargaining (3 cr.) The development and organization of collective bargaining in the United States, including union preparation for negotiations, bargaining patterns and practices, strategy and tactics, economic and legal considerations.

LSTU-L 251 Collective Bargaining Laboratory (1-3 cr.) P or C: LSTU-L 250. Provides collective bargaining simulations and other participatory experiences in conjunction with LSTUL 250.

LSTU-L 255 Unions in State and Local Government (3 cr.) Union organization and representation of state and municipal government employees, including patterns in union structure, collective bargaining, grievance representation, and applicable law.

LSTU-L 260 Leadership and Representation (3 cr.) Organizational leadership issues for the union, community, and other advocate organizations. Analyzes leadership styles, membership recruitment, and leadership development. Examines the role of leaders in internal governance and external affairs, including committee building, delegation, negotiations, and coalition building.

LSTU-L 270 Union Government and Organization (3 cr.) An analysis of the growth, composition, structure, behavior, and governmental processes of U.S. labor organizations, from the local to the national federation level. Consideration is given to the influence on unions of industrial and political environments, to organizational behavior in different types of unions, and to problems in union democracy.

LSTU-L 280 Union Organizing (3 cr.) Explores various approaches to and problems in private and public sector organizing. Traditional approaches are evaluated in light of structural changes in labor markets and workforce demographics. Topics range from targeting and assessments to committee building and leadership development.

LSTU-L 285 Assessment Project (1 cr.) Capstone experience for associate degree students.

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Other/Advanced Courses

LSTU-L 290 Topics in Labor Studies (3 cr.) This is a number under which a variety of topics can be addressed in classroom-based programs on the campuses. Courses may focus on contemporary or special areas of labor studies, such as union education; others are directed toward specific categories of employees and labor organizations.

LSTU-L 299 Self-Acquired Competency in Labor Studies (1-15 cr.)

LSTU-L 315 The Organization of Work (3 cr.) Examines how work is organized and how jobs are evaluated, measured, and controlled. Explores social and technical elements of work through theories of scientific management, the human relations school of management, and contemporary labor process literature.

LSTU-L 320 Grievance Arbitration (3 cr.) R: LSTU-L 220 or consent of instructor. The legal and practical context of grievance arbitration, and its limitations and advantages in resolving workplace problems. Varieties of arbitration clauses and the status of awards. Participants analyze, research, prepare, and present cases in mock arbitration hearings.

LSTU-L 350 Issues in Collective Bargaining (3 cr.) Readings and discussion of selected problems. Research paper usually required.

LSTU- L 360 Union Administration and Development (1-3 cr.) Practical and theoretical perspectives on strategic planning, budgeting, and organizational decision making. Addresses the needs and problems of union leaders by studying organizational change, staff development, and cohesiveness within a diverse workforce. May be repeated for up to 3 credits with department approval.

LSTU-L 375 Comparative Labor Movements (3 cr.) Labor movements and labor relations in industrial societies from historical, analytical, and comparative perspectives. Emphasis on interaction between unions and political organizations, national labor policies, the resolution of workplace problems, the organization of white-collar employees, and the issues of workers control and codetermination.

LSTU-L 380 Theories of the Labor Movement (3 cr.) Perspectives on the origin, development, and goals of organized labor. Theories include those that view the labor movement as a business union institution, an agent for social reform, a revolutionary force, a psychological reaction to industrialization, a moral force, and an unnecessary intrusion.

LSTU-L 385 Class, Race, Gender, and Work (3 cr.) Historical overview of the impact and interplay of class, race, and gender on shaping U.S. labor markets, organizations, and policies. Examines union responses and strategies for addressing class, race, and gender issues.

LSTU-L 390 Topics in Labor Studies (1-3 cr.) Advanced course in areas described under L290.

LSTU-L 410 Comparative Labor Movements (3 cr.) Labor movements and labor relations in industrial societies from historical, analytical, and comparative perspectives. Emphasis on interaction between unions and political organizations, national labor policies, the resolution of workplace problems, the organization of white collar employees, and the issues of worker control and codetermination.

LSTU-L 420 Labor Studies Internship (1-6 cr.) Application of knowledge gained in the classroom in fieldwork experience.

LSTU-L 430 Labor Research Methods (3 cr.) Study of research design, methods, techniques, and procedures applicable to research problems in labor studies.

LSTU-L 480 Senior Seminar or Readings (3 cr.) Designed as either a classroom seminar or directed reading course. Addresses current issues, historical developments, and other labor-related concerns. Topics may vary each semester.

LSTU-L 490 Topics in Labor Studies (1-3 cr.) A variable-title course, LSTU-L 490 can be repeated for credit with different subjects. The transcript will show a different subtitle each time the course is taken. Some courses focus on contemporary or special areas of labor studies. Others are directed toward specific categories of employees and labor organizations.

LSTU-L 495 Directed Labor Study (1-6 cr.) Arr. A contract course to suit the special and varied needs and interests of individual students. The contract with the faculty members might include reading, directed application of prior course work, tutorials, or internships. Competencies assessed through written papers, projects, reports, or interviews. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 credit hours.

LSTU-L 499 Self-Acquired Competency in Labor Studies (1-15 cr.)

LSTU-L 580 Graduate Seminar (3 cr.) This course will examine major questions in labor studies from a variety of perspectives. Readings will explore historical as well as strategic analyses, theoretical as well as applied knowledge. Subjects include pedagogical approaches to labor education, labor history reexamined, and social policy analysis from a labor perspective.

LSTU-L 590 Poverty, Welfare, and Workfare (3 cr.) This course examines the political-economic relationship that exists between the prescriptions of welfare reform and the introduction of workfare legislation and addresses the following questions: How are attacks on labor-union rights, privatization, and lower taxes on the affluent linked to welfare reform and workfare legislation? What are the consequences of welfare reform and workfare for Americans?

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