About the Labor Studies Center
Unions and Democracy
Whether it's shipyard workers in Poland, hospital workers in America, or coal miners in South Africa, democratic unions are an essential bulwark of a democratic society. Nations that favor corporate elites or state power at the expense of workers and their unions are nations that weaken the foundations of political democracy.
Mission
The Labor Studies Center is a comprehensive labor education center committed to strengthening the capacity of organized labor to represent the needs and interests of workers, while at the same time strengthening the University's research and teaching on labor and workplace issues. The Center's primary areas of research and practice include:
- Training and technical assistance to unions on labor relations and
workplace issues.
- An undergraduate Labor Studies major and internship program.
- Interventions to increase the organizational effectiveness of unions.
- The development and diffusion of constructive labor-management relations
practices, particularly in the public sector.
- The formation and institutionalization of labor-community coalitions
and regional power building strategies.
- The impact of lean production systems on workers and labor relations practice in the North American auto industry.
Download Anual Report
Click here for a pdf file of the 2004-2005 report
Click here for a pdf file of the cover 2003-2004
Click here for a pdf file of the report 2003-3004
Labor Studies Center
3178 Faculty Administration Building
313.577.2191, FAX 313.577.7726
