Doctoral Dissertation Research: Labor Unions and the Economic Crisis

博士论文研究：工会与经济危机俄勒冈大学Caleb Southworth(PI)Ann Leymon(共同PI)这个项目考察了不同类型的劳工组织在经济低迷时期如何应对政治机会。工会如何应对经济危机？工会如何改变策略以应对经济衰退，比如2008年的经济衰退或1929年的大萧条？组织特征，如劳工领袖的资历或管理层级的类型，与工会应对经济危机的变化之间有什么关系？政治机会理论认为，社会运动组织将增加政治行动，而经济周期理论预测，经济危机将对工会不利，减少成员和权力。作为一个恰当的例子，本文比较了大萧条和2008年经济危机期间不同类型的工会，并在此过程中创建了一个关于30个工会在2008年危机爆发前后的政治、经济和组织活动的数据集。研究人员将从位于纽约伊萨卡的凯尔中心档案馆、华盛顿大学图书馆、工会网站和劳工管理标准办公室收集和编码有关政治活动、组织活动、组织特征和联盟的数据，这些数据来自宪法、大会议事程序和其他工会记录。这个项目的智力价值在于四个方面。首先，它考虑了可能的活动的范围，从传统的游说到激进的行动，从而得出了更微妙的发现。其次，关注组织特征使我们能够确定哪些组织特征使工会更有可能利用政治机会。第三，将工会应对危机的活动与危机开始前的活动进行比较，可以纵向分析战术变化。最后，该项目通过记录工会对不断下滑的经济状况的反应，扩展了对商业周期的研究。更广泛的影响首先，该项目将使用详细的组织、财务和政治变量生成2005-2010年间30个工会的数据集。其次，本科生程序员将获得宝贵的教育机会，学习实践研究技能，并体验正在进行的研究项目。第三，这些发现可能会进一步加深我们对有组织的劳工以及更广泛的利益集团如何影响工作场所条件和政策的理解。

Doctoral Dissertation Research: Labor Unions and the Economic CrisisSES - 1102823Caleb Southworth (PI)Ann Leymon (co-PI)University of OregonAbstractThis project examines how different types of labor organizations respond to political opportunities in times of an economic downturn. How do labor unions react to economic crisis? In what ways do unions change their strategy in response to recessions, such as the recession of 2008 or the Great Depression of 1929? What is the relationship between organizational traits, such as the credential of labor leaders or the type of management hierarchy, and changes in unions' response to economic crisis? Political opportunity theory suggests that social movement organizations will increase political action, while business cycle theory predicts that economic crisis will be detrimental to unions, reducing membership and power. As a case in point, this dissertation compares different types of labor unions during the Great Depression and the economic crisis of 2008 and, in the process, creates a dataset on the political, economic, and organizational activity of 30 labor unions both before and after the onset of the crisis of 2008. Researchers will collect and code data on political activity, organizing activity, organizational characteristics, and alliances from constitutions, convention proceedings, and other union records located at the Kheel Center Archives in Ithaca, NY, University of Washington libraries, union websites, and the Office of Labor-Management Standards. The intellectual merit of this project lies in four areas. First, it considers the range of possible activities, from conventional lobbying to radical actions, allowing for more nuanced findings. Second, focusing on organizational characteristics enables us to determine which organizational characteristics make unions more likely to take advantage of political opportunities. Third, comparing labor union activities in response to crisis with activities before the crisis began, allows for longitudinal analysis of tactical changes. Finally, the project extends research on business cycles by recording responses of labor unions to declining economic conditions. Broader ImpactsFirst, the project will produce a dataset on 30 labor unions from 2005-2010 using detailed organizational, financial, and political variables. Second, undergraduate coders will receive a valuable educational opportunity to learn hands-on research skills and experience a research project in progress. Third, the findings may further our understanding how organized labor, and interest groups more generally, affect work place conditions and policies.