Wisconsin Institutionalism: John R. Commons and His Students

This paper seeks to provide a close examination of the nature and history of the institutional economics that developed at the University of Wisconsin. There has been a significant amount of work done on the thinking of John R. Commons, but much less on the history of Wisconsin institutionalism more generally. The paper proceeds through an examination of the development of the Department of Economics at Wisconsin from the time of the hiring of Richard T. Ely in 1892; the faculty hired to the Department from the early 1900s through to Commons's retirement in 1933; the program of instruction offered, particularly in the late 1920s when the full complement of institutionalist faculty were present; and the areas of study and later careers of Commons's graduate students. It is argued that although Ely played a role in the development of Wisconsin institutionalism, it was Commons who became the center of graduate student work, and that the Department only took on its decidedly institutionalist character after the hiring of Commons and a number of his students as faculty. The program of study in the late 1920s was very heavily institutionalist in character with Commons providing a core course on value and valuation, and a notable emphasis in the fields of public utilities, labor economics, and statistics. Very little instruction was provided in neoclassical theory. Many of Commons's students went on to notable careers in the academic world or public service or both. Wisconsin students were heavily involved in labor legislation issues, and in the development and administration of social security. But a number of Commons's students went into academic careers, and many produced large numbers of PhD students themselves. The decline of Wisconsin-style institutionalism after World War II was not, as has been suggested, a result of Commons's students moving largely into non-academic careers, but of many other factors, including the rise of Keynesian economics, and the migration of what had been much of Wisconsin institutionalism into new schools of industrial relations.     

Dismissal of strikers and industrial disputes: the 1985–1987 strike and mass sackings at Silentnight

The 1985–1987 dispute at Silentnight bed factories in the north of England was an exceptionally long and bitter strike, lasting for 20 months from June 1985 until February 1987. A total of 346 workers were sacked for taking part in the strike, which gained a high profile with remarkable levels of support and solidarity action, largely due to its emblematic status as an extreme example of punitive treatment of workers taking industrial action in the period immediately following the defeat of the miners in 1984/1985. Workers took lawful strike action in 1985 over the non-implementation of agreed pay rises and compulsory redundancies counter to an existing agreement between the firm and the union, with the company responding to the dispute with mass dismissals. Pickets were maintained at the two factories in question for nearly two years, with the strikers gaining wide-ranging support from across the labour movement, but the company stood firm against the dismissed strikers who were ultimately defeated. Based on archival research and interviews with participants in the strike, the article analyses in detail how the dispute was sustained for so long, the legal context and the weakness of legal protections for strikers in the period, and the widespread political mobilisation and networks of support and solidarity that arose around the strike and in opposition to the policies of the Conservative government of the day.     

“We feel that our strength is on the factory floor”: Dualism,shop-floor power,and labor law reform in late apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article explores the transformation of South African labor relations during the 1980s. In 1979, prompted by new shop-floor militancy, the Wiehahn Commission recommended that black workers, previously excluded from state labor machinery, be permitted to join recognized trade unions. Most discussions of this shift in apartheid labor relations focus on the ensuing debate within the black unions, torn between preserving their independence or securing state legitimation. This article looks instead at the related debate about ‘levels of bargaining’: should emergent black unions demand to negotiate at the factory level, where they had secured shop-floor strength through organizing and democratic practice, or pursue the benefits of the corporatist bargaining structures that had long excluded them and had privileged white workers? The eventual drift towards corporatism, I argue, imprinted the character of the South African labor movement into the post-apartheid era. An understandable desire to wield influence at the level of the national political economy eroded the tradition of workers’ control, shop floor democracy, and struggle unionism that black unions had forged during the 1970s and 1980s.     

Labor radicalism and the local politics of Chinese exclusion: Mayor Jacob Weisbach and the Tacoma Chinese expulsion of 1885

ABSTRACT

The 1885 Chinese expulsion from Tacoma, Washington Territory highlights the importance of local political economy in shaping how a wider anti-Chinese movement played out in a particular community. Tacoma was a newly emerging city where white residents felt the threat of corporate domination in the form of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In this context, the city’s German immigrant mayor, Jacob Weisbach, could draw upon his longstanding labor radicalism to mobilize a broad anti-Chinese coalition that blurred the divide between white workers and the local business class. The result was the forceful removal of Chinese residents following a year-long campaign that culminated in mob action and became known as the ‘Tacoma Method’. This local violence in turn fed into ongoing national efforts to secure Chinese exclusion. Tacoma’s Chinese expulsion illustrates how radical labor traditions could be turned, under particular conditions, to the politics of racial repression even as the proponents of expulsion framed their efforts in terms of an egalitarian and democratic agenda. The participation of the Knights of Labor and other labor radicals in a politics exemplified by the Tacoma Method was accordingly tied to the larger racialized American state-building project as it unfolded in the late 19th Century.     

我国企业劳动关系和谐指数评价指标之研究

从理论上讲,政府、企业和员工处于互信互利、相互配合、相互包容、共同发展的一种状态是劳动关系追求的和谐状态,这种和谐状态不是一种表面的感知,而是可以通过劳动关系和谐指数的主客观指标值来把它显现出来。劳动关系和谐指数评价体系从员工、企业、政府三个角度入手,对员工满意程度、企业法律法规的执行情况、政府目标任务的完成情况进行综合评价。构建理性的、科学的劳动关系和谐指数评价体系,对于我国构建和谐劳动关系、缓解劳资纠纷和用工紧张具有重要意义。     

Non-racialism and the African National Congress: views from the branch

South Africa's ruling party is well known as an organisation that supports the ideal of non-racialism. However, the extent to which the African National Congress (ANC) has defined and instrumentalised the concept of non-racialism is contested. This article looks at the history of non-racialism in the party and more recent interpretations by ANC leadership, before examining how non-racialism is understood, 19 years into democracy, by members of the party. Based on interviews with over 45 ANC branch members, the article describes how members, broadly speaking, have deep-seated concerns with non-racialism in the ANC and in society more generally. There is recognition from ANC branch members that race relations have significantly improved since the ANC moved into government; however, they feel not enough change has taken place and that racial tensions are impeding social cohesion and concomitant growth and progress in the country. There is division among members in regards to the efficacy and impact of the party's racially based policies such as affirmative action as well as the manner in which race potentially influences leadership opportunities within the party. Furthermore, the article shows that there is lack of definition and direction on the part of the ANC in regards to the instrumentalisation of non-racialism, and this deficiency has negative consequences for racial cohesion in the party. The article concludes by discussing how investigations into party branches through the lens of non-racialism, highlights more deep-seated concerns about local-level party democracy and a party fractured at the grassroots.     

The Africa-China relationship: challenges and opportunities

The dramatic growth in the relationship between Africa and China is one of the great stories of the twenty-first century, part of the profound transformations taking place in the global political economy. It has been greeted with excitement, consternation, and confusion. To its cheerleaders, it represents the enduring partnership between Africa and China, spawned by the historical affinities of struggles against Western imperialism and humanistic aspirations for development. To its critics, it is reminiscent of European colonisation a century earlier, in which Africa serves as a cheap source of raw materials, a lucrative export market for Chinese manufactured goods, and an outlet for its surplus capital. Rather than a development partner, some see China as Africa's biggest development competitor, whose explosive growth and insatiable quest for global markets threatens Africa's industrialisation and competitiveness. This paper examines the factors behind the development of Africa-China relations, especially its economic magnitude, and the challenges and opportunities it offers both regions.     

Paving the way for farm animal welfare in international relations: an EU–Brazil case study

As a sensitive area in international trade, animal welfare measures have encountered resistance in negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Consequently, alternative avenues have been pursued to reach international trade policy convergence. To further understand the contemporary trade politics of animal welfare, an empirical investigation was conducted on the interplay between European and Brazilian actors in the context of livestock production. By drawing upon diplomatic studies and the global governance literature, this study identifies and analyses initiatives that parallel the WTO approach and through which the development and implementation of mutually acceptable farm animal welfare measures have been pursued. Research findings indicate that a constellation of international non-diplomatic actors are currently engaged in influencing the future development of farm animal welfare measures. Among the initiatives that enable the alignment of European and Brazilian animal welfare policies and practices, there are soft instruments such as knowledge sharing and private standards. The rise of new actors and the use of soft instruments have been, to a certain extent, able to mitigate the tardiness of a WTO consensus regarding the use of animal welfare measures. However, there are concerns that the use of private standards has become a shortcut to circumvent the rigours of the multilateral trading system. This concern deserves a closer look because instead of paving the way, private standards may hamper trade relations which in turn hamper progress in animal welfare matters.     

人力资源开发与企业和谐劳动关系的构建

企业之所以进行人力资源开发,就是为了改变人力资源的既有状态,促使其向更高层次迈进。毫无疑问,这意味着对人力资源固有行为方式的改变。因此,人力资源开发也可以说是改变人力资源固有行为方式的行为。     

经济转型升级中的和谐劳动关系构建 一基于准安市劳动关系状况调查的分析

通过准安市劳动关系状况的调查,发现其劳动关系领域存在的就业质量不高、劳动者素质有待提高、集 体劳动关系尚不成熟等问题,成为影响经济可持续发展的重要因素。为此,有必要从提高劳动者素质、推动高质量就 业、规范企业用工行为、加强工会组织建设以及完善劳动关系矛盾调处机制等方面构建和谐劳动关系,从而推动产业 结构调整,促进经济转型升级。