Labor Relations in the Public Sector » (4th Edition)

That we are participants in a global economy may no longer be news, but its impact continues to shape the field of labor relations. This is certainly true in the public sector where union membership is stagnant and outsourcing is becoming more and more prevalent. Further impacting current trends are local and state movements to restructure public organizations and the processes they use to conduct their activities and provide services. These include the mechanisms of collective bargaining and contract administration.

Reflecting these and many other trends and changes, this fourth edition of the perennially bestselling Labor Relations in the Public Sector is now completely updated. The fundamental reader-friendly organization of the book remains the same, and it continues to address the many facets that must be considered today, as unions still represent 40 percent of public sector workers. However in keeping up with the formative events of recent times, this text—
• *Accounts for emerging trends in scholarly and professional literature as well as in practice
• *Features several new case studies that provide readers with experiential learning opportunities across a range of contemporary situations
• *Places greater emphasis on ways to develop and use interest-based ("win–win") negotiations during bargaining processes and throughout the administration of contracts

This volume recognizes the key role played by unions in the federal government and in a large proportion of state and local jurisdictions, but it also recognizes that much is changing. Fiscal realities and strategic challenges are changing the role of the labor union in the public sector. This is a trend that must be understood if its consequences are to be anticipated and met for the mutual good.

Industrial and Labor Relations Review

Praise for the previous editions... "...go[es] beyond most other texts in its comprehensiveness and its informed treatment of the research literature on public sector labor relations.

List of Case Studies

Preface

1 History and Background 1

2 The Unions Today 25

3 The Legal Environment of Public Sector Labor Relations 47

4 Fundamentals of the Bargaining Process 83

5 The Process and Politics of Public Sector Collective Bargaining 115

6 Financial Impacts of Unions and Collective Bargaining 143

7 Union Impacts: Personnel Processes and Policies 179

8 Strike! 221

9 Resolving Impasses: Alternatives to the Strike 255

10 Living with the Contract 291

11 Public Employee Unions in the Future 323

References 343

Index 367