What part have unions played in the corporate restructuring of recent
decades? As managers have experimented with mergers and acquisitions,
outsourcing and flexible staffing, how have unions responded? While unions
may attempt to resist restructuring efforts, in some cases the very presence
of a union may spur managers to turn to outsourcing and labor saving
technologies as a way to erode union bargaining power. More positively,
unions may cushion the impact of restructuring without impeding it, giving

Women are entering the labor force in increasing numbers, and the income gap between male and female workers has been steadily declining. So why do recent studies focus on the perpetuation of gender inequality and not on its decline?

In today's rapidly changing economy, the labor force is increasingly called upon to develop new skills in order to keep pace with the constant flow of technological innovation. Since government training programs are often limited to unemployed and disadvantaged workers, it is incumbent upon employers or workers themselves to take the initiative and upgrade the skill level of the moderately educated workforce.

Although welfare state institutions play a central role in protecting social rights and promoting social inclusion, they have come under sharp attack in the last few decades within the United States. Policy reforms have sharply curtailed some forms of welfare assistance and have devolved administration of others from the federal to the state government and from the public to the private sector. Meanwhile, transfers through the tax system have soared. Has the welfare reform movement weakened public assistance generally or merely shifted the funding sources?

Edwin Melendez of the New School University, Joshua Hawley of Ohio State University, and Lynn McCormick of Hunter College/CUNY are conducting a survey regarding the role of employers associations in the labor market. Whereas in Europe, business associations have had a long history of involvement in workforce development, American employers associations are often labeled as self-serving, uncooperative, and passive with regard to workers. But recent studies are showing that this has not always been the case, and more and more frequently U.S.

Skill requirements for jobs are growing and changing significantly. Many analysts believe this is due to advances in computer technology and organizational changes that increase employee involvement in workplace decision-making. To provide better tests of these hypotheses, we need to learn more about what tasks people actually perform at work, and what kind and level of skill these job tasks require.

Call centers have emerged as the primary vehicle for firms to interact with consumers, transforming consumer service jobs - once characterized by variety and personal relationships - into routinized, high speed operations with continuous monitoring and minimal skill requirements. International competition and increased specialization of call centers has depressed the wages of employees and limited their prospects for upward mobility.