Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant: Legal Action and Collective Bargaining for Workers in a Global Economy

博士论文研究资助：全球经济中工人的法律行动和集体谈判

• 批准号: 1539864
• 负责人: Kiyoteru Tsutsui
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1539864&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Grant; Legal

This project studies how workers engage in either legal action or collective bargaining for dispute resolution. It seeks to understand how and when workers are able increase their rights, even when they find little political support and have limited capacities within the workplace. The study asks three questions: (1) Why do some low wage workers use legal action while others use collective bargaining?, (2) When workers attempt collective bargaining why are some able to bring management to the bargaining table and others not?, and(3) If taking legal action, why do some workers attempt to use the law to expand their rights when others do not? To answer these questions, the study compares six different cases of labor disputes and focuses on the role of management, state authorities, and non-governmental organizations working in labor (labor NGOs) in southern China. The data collection combines interviews with workers, attorneys, and non-government organizations associated with the cases with legal and organizational documents from archived files on each case, media reports and participant observation notes from court hearings and meetings with workers. It is expected that managers and firm-level factors will play a crucial role in workers' decisions to use legal action or attempt collective bargaining. State authorities are critical in the collective bargaining process, and their intervention enables some workers to bring management to the bargaining table. Finally, labor NGOs may guide some workers to use legal action to expand their rights; on the other hand, workers who do not engage with labor NGOs use the courtroom strictly for recovering material interests. This study will increase our knowledge of the contemporary industrial setting in China. Such knowledge will improve business and political relationships with China, leading to a more productive relationship to the advantage of all parties.

本项目研究工人如何通过法律的行动或集体谈判解决争端。它试图了解工人如何以及何时能够增加他们的权利，即使他们在工作场所几乎得不到政治支持并且能力有限。该研究提出了三个问题：（1）为什么一些低薪工人使用法律的行动，而另一些工人使用集体谈判？，(2)当工人尝试集体谈判时，为什么有些人能把管理层带到谈判桌上，而另一些人不能？（3）如果采取法律的行动，为什么一些工人试图利用法律来扩大他们的权利，而另一些人却不这样做？为了回答这些问题，本研究比较了六个不同的劳资纠纷案例，并重点讨论了管理层、国家当局和在中国南方从事劳工工作的非政府组织（劳工非政府组织）的作用。数据收集结合了对工人、律师和与案件有关的非政府组织的访谈，以及每个案件存档档案中的法律的和组织文件、媒体报道和法庭听证会和与工人会面的参与者观察记录。预计管理人员和公司一级的因素将在工人决定采取法律的行动或尝试集体谈判方面发挥关键作用。国家当局在集体谈判过程中至关重要，它们的干预使一些工人能够将管理层带到谈判桌上。最后，劳工NGO可以引导部分劳工利用法律的行动来扩大自己的权利;另一方面，不与劳工NGO合作的劳工则严格地利用法庭来争取物质利益。这项研究将增加我们对中国当代工业环境的了解。这些知识将改善与中国的商业和政治关系，从而建立对各方都有利的更富有成效的关系。