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Call for papers: "For the global emancipation of labour: new movements and struggles around work, workers and precarity" [for Interface journal]

1/9/2012

 
_. . . for a special issue of the journal Interface on "For the global emancipation of labour: new movements and struggles around work, workers and precarity" may be of interest to some listmembers. Submission details on the journal's webpage at http://interfacejournal.net.

The page with specific information regarding this call can be found here.
The due date for submissions is May 1, 2012.

Human Relations special issue call for papers: "Changing work, labour and employment relations in China"

1/3/2012

 
Human Relations special issue call for papers

Changing work, labour and employment relations in China
Guest Editors: Sarosh Kuruvilla, and Eli Friedman (Cornell University)

It has been over 30 years since China embarked on its new economic development strategy that has resulted in the dramatic and sustained economic growth rates unparalleled for large economies during the last five decades. This rapid economic growth has been accompanied by transformations in most arenas, such as economic policy, trade, education, internal and external migration, law, and managerial practices, all of which have been the subject of considerable scholarship. 

There is comparatively little published scholarship (in English) about how the economic transformation in China is influencing changes in the nature and quality of work, employment conditions, the strategies of  workers, unions and labour activist organizations (NGOs), and on the nature and quality of  labour-management relations in China. The absence of abundant  scholarship in this area (in contrast to scholarship on human resource management)  is striking given current developments, particularly the growth of informal employment and labour militancy (there has been  a very large number of work stoppages and strikes during the last few years). 

A partial explanation for the relative absence of scholarship on these topical labour issues stems from some degree of self-censorship by China-based academics, as the subject of labour activism is a sensitive issue (writ large) for the Chinese government. Academics from outside China, who publish much of the work, also have faced problems of adequate access, although that is changing.  Nevertheless, as both changes in work and labour issues rapidly gain center stage in China, there is increased scholarly interest, particularly visible in the development of labour related research networks consisting of both foreign and Chinese scholars. It is an opportune moment for Human Relations to tap into this emerging scholarship on an  important economic and social policy issue in contemporary China, an issue that that is undergoing  rapid transformation. This is the key rationale for this call for papers on transformations in work, labour, and employment relations in China.

Several recent developments make this call for papers opportune. In January 2008 the Chinese government enacted a much debated protective labour legislation (the Labor Contract Law) to curb the rapid informalization of work in China, but the effects of this law have not been studied systematically. This law was buttressed by a new pensions legislation in 2010, the impact of which is as yet unexplored. While the law encourages collective bargaining, we also see a clear increase in industrial unrest, with some strikes highly coordinated, others more spontaneous, but all resulting in significant wage increases for workers. Are these recent strikes different from the protests of desperation (workers in state-owned companies protesting job loss) or protests of discrimination (protests by migrant workers who do not have citizenship rights (hukou) in urban areas where they work) noted by Ching Kwan Lee (2007)?  There is increased variation in the strategies of regional and city level trade unions, suggesting that the popular image of the ACFTU as being a monolithic top-down organization may not be accurate anymore.


What factors might increase the bargaining power and voice of Chinese workers?  Kuruvilla, Gallagher and Lee (2011) hypothesize that the shortage of workers – a function of decline in working population resulting from the one child policy and institutional discrimination against migrants as a result of the hukou system (which remains a barrier to the permanent migration and urbanization of many rural citizens) – will increase both wages and voice. Others argue that China may be at a Lewisian turning point, when labour scarcity begins to shift the economy away from labour intensive input-driven growth to enhanced productivity, declining inequality and greater domestic consumption. We know very little about how firms are reacting to these changes in labour costs, and whether they are re-structuring work in ways that increase employee skills and involvement.


Changing worker demographics – and, in particular, the new generation of migrant workers who appear more educated, more conscious of their rights – portend increasing worker activism.  At the same time, the government appears to be permitting a greater degree of media openness (as witnessed in the case of the strikes in the summer of 2010). And there is some institutional pressure, at the local government level, for increased collective bargaining (e.g. Guangdong and Shanghai), and the granting of a temporary hukou for migrant workers. These efforts may serve to further increase the bargaining power of workers, as might the efforts of non-state actors such as labour NGOs and other groups.  However, a better understanding of work and labour in China requires us to look beyond highly studied manufacturing to other sectors, and to other unstudied regions. We need more research on employer perspectives, in addition to worker perspectives. We need more research on the middle stratum of the labour force as China upgrades technologically, in contrast to the predominant focus on migrant workers and manufacturing.  


Given the above context, this special issue invites papers that address the following research questions:
  • What is the impact of the Labor Contract Law 2008 on Chinese employers, workers and unions? Is the law implemented uniformly across China, and if not, what factors account for the variation in implementation?  To what extent has the law altered the strategies and attitudes of employers, unions, NGOs and workers?  How have recent legislative reforms (e.g. pensions) altered the incidence of informal work?   How are labour laws enforced?
  • _How are notions of work changing as China completes its transformation from a communist society to a capitalist one?
  • What accounts for growing industrial unrest in China? What is the extent of industrial unrest in the form of worker protests and strikes? What are the key determinants? Who strikes and why?  What are the outcomes of strikes?
  • How is the bargaining power of Chinese workers changing?  What contextual factors enhance or retard the bargaining power of Chinese workers (e.g., labour shortages, changes in migration policy, changes in the hukou policy, intergenerational changes amongst migrant workers)?   
  • What is the role, influence and effects of NGOs and the media on workers, labour law enforcement, on government?
  • How is the process of collective bargaining changing?
  • Is the trend towards increased informalisation/casualisation of work continuing?  What has been the impact of the increasing prevalence of dual labour markets on the organization of work in manufacturing?
  • How is work structured in some of less-studied industries, e.g. food and beverage, transportation, energy, sanitation, civil service? How does this complicate ideas about work in China, which are mostly based on studies of the manufacturing sector?
  • Particularly relevant in China’s southwestern and western regions, how do ethnic differences between Han and minorities impact conditions of work?
  • How are employers responding to worker militancy, labour shortages, technological upgrading and skill shortages of Chinese workers?
  • How has the transformation of the economy affected the production of skills in China?
We are seeking submissions based on well designed empirical investigations of these issues and related issues. We welcome qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Single and multiple case studies are also welcome.  Our review of the papers will depend heavily on the quality of the research design, as well as the argument and substantive contributions of the papers.

Contributors should note:

·         This call is open and competitive, and submitted papers will be double-blind peer reviewed in the usual way.

·         Submitted papers must be based on original material not accepted by, or under consideration with, any other journal or outlet.

·         For empirical papers based on data sets from which multiple papers have been generated, authors must provide the guest editors with copies of all other papers based on the same data.

·         The guest editors will select a limited number of papers to be included in the special issue. Other papers submitted to the special issue may be considered for publication in other issues of the journal at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

 

The deadline for submissions is 01 January 2013. Submissions should not be submitted before 01 December 2012. The special issue is intended for publication in Human Relations in the second half of 2014 or the first half of 2015.

Papers to be considered for this special issue should adhere to the submission requirements of Human Relations (please see: http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/submit_paper.html), and will be submitted through the online system (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hr) of the Journal. Please indicate in your covering letter that the paper is intended for this special issue. Please direct questions about the submission process, or any administrative matter, to the Editorial Office:  humanrelationsjournal@tavinstitute.org.

References
Mingwei Liu (2010) Liu Mingwei. 2010. “Union Organizing in China: Still a Monolithic Labor Movement?”  Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol.64, No.1, pp. 30-52.

Sarosh Kuruvilla, Ching Kwan lee and Mary Gallagher. 2011.  From Iron Rice Bowl to Informalization: Markets, Workers and State in a Changing China. Cornell University Press:  Ithaca and London .

Ching Kwan lee (2007). Against the Law: Labor Protests in China’s Rustbelt and Sunbelt. University of California Press.

Warner, M. (ed.) (2011) Confucian HRM in Greater China: theory and practice. London: Routledge. (forthcoming).

Crisis and Working Class Resistance: Solidarity in Global/Local Contexts

1/3/2012

 
_2012 Southwest Labor Studies Association conference

Thursday May 17-Friday May 18at UC-Riverside

Workers and working class communities locally and globally are facing a historic crisis in their living and working conditions. This crisis often has both gender and racial dimensions; assaults on working class rights to work and live in dignity often target or disproportionately affect women, immigrants, and people of color.  Working class people (including students, the elderly, and the unemployed) are also organizing to defend their interests in new and exciting ways, as the ‘Occupy Movement’ demonstrates. Through this conference, we hope to shed light on local trends, and to also put them into cross-national, transnational, and historical perspective. We also seek to build and strengthen the relationships between scholars, students, and labor and community activists.

We invite you to submit any of the following: research papers, abstracts, or proposals for events (speaker panels, film screenings, art exhibits, cultural performances, workshops/discussions, local tours or actions, etc). For proposed events, please describe (in a paragraph or a few pages) the event you would like to organize, including any speakers or performers you plan to invite.

Event proposals, papers, and abstracts are due by January 31, 2012. All submissions should include your full name, organizational and/or campus affiliation, your e-mail address, and your phone number. Send your submission to: swlsa.ucr@gmail.com

Possible topics include:
-public sector cutbacks, austerity/structural adjustment programs, and privatization of public services

-the foreclosure crisis, the housing crisis, and the financial crisis

-the crisis in public education

-the declining quality of jobs and labor law violations

-unemployment, underemployment, & the rise in temporary employment

-the contemporary workplace

-global labor markets and the global race to the bottom


-the impact of northern off-shoring on workers and communities in the global south

-cross-border labor organizing, and/or transnational linkages between workers 

-the rising cost of living (food prices, gas prices, housing prices, tuition, etc.) 

-the assault on unions by employers and politicians
-economic deregulation and politicians’ failure to serve working class interests


- working class resistance (past and present) including labor, community, and student organizing and protest

Submissions are due by January 31, 2012. For more information or to submit your proposals, papers, or abstracts (including your name, affiliation, e-mail address, and phone number), please contact: swlsa.ucr@gmail.com

Organizing Committee: Yesenia Cabral (UFCW), Piya Chatterjee (Women’s Studies/Labor Studies, UCR), Jesse Diaz Jr. (Labor Studies), Olivia Gonzalez (Social Justice Alliance & MECHA), Sheheryar Kaoosji (Warehouse Workers United), Jorge Serrato (UFCW), Desiree Navarro (Inland Action), Maribel Nunez (California Partnership and Riverside Community College), Ellen Reese (Sociology/Labor Studies, UCR), Jason Struna (Sociology/Labor Studies, UCR), and Mary Valdemar (CSEA, Community Relations, Valley College). Co-sponsors: Applied Economics, Labor Studies, Program on Global Studies, Sociology, UC Miguel Contreras Labor Studies Development Grant

"New Economic Realities: Risk, Inequality, and Workplace" (Labor and Employment Relations Association)

1/3/2012

 
_Call for Symposia Proposals for LERA 65th Meeting in conjunction with ASSA/AEA January 4-6, 2013, San Diego, CA

http://www.leraweb.org/calls-announcements

“New Economic Realities: Risk, Inequality and Workplace”

Submission Deadline: February 17, 2012
The LERA Program Committee welcomes proposals for stimulating, creative, and controversial panels related to this theme as well as other proposals that deal with labor, labor markets, labor and employment relations, inequality, economic justice, technology and work organization, human resource studies, unions, industrial relations, management practices including work-life balance, and industry studies as well as topics of current interest or related more generally to the mission of LERA. We encourage submissions from the perspectives of multiple disciplines – including but not limited to economics, sociology, political science, labor and employment law, industrial relations, and human resource studies – and the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, including investors, managers, workers and unions.

The Program Committee recommends a maximum of six (6) participants in your session, including chairs, presenters, and discussants to allow time for questions from the audience. Those wishing to submit papers rather than sessions may do so, but preference will be given to entire panel proposals.

Session organizers are encouraged to include participants representative of the Association’s membership if possible. Proposed sessions that include both labor and management viewpoints and include participants with diverse institutional and geographic backgrounds will be favored. The overall program should reflect the balanced perspectives of our membership.
Papers presented in LERA symposia at the LERA 65th Meeting in conjunction with ASSA/AEA in San Diego will be invited to be published in the LERA Proceedings. Visit the LERA website for complete information about our Proceedings and submission requirements.

To submit an online proposal, visit the LERA website at http://leraweb.org/calls-announcements. To give the program committee an understanding of the proposed panel, we request that symposia organizers provide:
- Symposium title
- Brief abstract or description of session
- Listing of session participants/affiliations, either confirmed or invited, and their role in the session
- Paper titles and brief paper abstract for all papers to be presented in the session

Proposals must be submitted or reach the LERA Office no later than February 17, 2012.

Contact LERAoffice@illinois.edu with questions.

LERA Program Committee - LERA 65th Meeting with ASSA/AEA
Eileen Appelbaum, Chair, Center for Economic and Policy Research; Randy Albelda, University of Massachusetts-Boston; Sylvia Allegretto, University of California, Berkeley; Peter Berg, Michigan State University; Lonnie Golden, Penn State University-Abington; Sandy Jacoby, UCLA; Bill Rodgers, Rutgers University; Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst

SSRC Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship--Governing Global Production

1/3/2012

 
_The SSRC DPDF program is designed for early-stage graduate students in PhD programs in the U.S.  One of this year's themes is "Governing Global Production."  

More information is available on the SSRC website (http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/dpdf-fellowship/).  Here's the beginning of the description:

Governing Global Production
Field directors: Layna Mosley (Political Science, U of North Carolina) and Tim Bartley (Sociology, Indiana)

The extent and structure of global production of consumer goods, raw materials and food have changed dramatically in the past three decades, with far reaching consequences.  Some scholars have argued that this globalization of production directly undermines the role of nation-states and the capacity of citizens for democratic governance: footloose firms have tremendous power vis-à-vis local and national governments.  But scholars increasingly find that global production also has spawned new types of rule-making projects and notions of accountability, and sometimes even upward trajectories of regulation.  Political scientists, sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, legal scholars, historians, and business scholars have all contributed to a growing literature on the character of these rule-making projects and regulatory trajectories.

"Workers, Inequality and the State in the Era of Financialization" (SASE mini-conference)

1/3/2012

 
_SASE mini-conference on "Workers, Inequality and the State in the Era of Financialization" (part of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics annual conference, June 28-30 at MIT) 

http://sase.org/mini-conferences/themes_fr_115.html

Workers, Inequality and the State in the Era of Financialization

Organizers: Joshua Bloom and Chris Tilly, UCLA

By now, the “financialization” of the economy is widely acknowledged. Over the past several decades, firms have earned an increasing share of their income through portfolio activities and exercised greater control over other sectors of economic activity; at the same time, the financial sector has grown relative to the industrial economy as financial markets have expanded their offerings and subsumed more and more participants. Increasingly, not only market actors but governments and even households are looking to Wall Street and financial markets across the globe as a kind of economic Polaris. These developments have led to numerous changes within and among firms, affecting degrees of vertical and horizontal integration while altering the balance of power among shareholders, managers, workers, states, and other actors. While scholarship has explicated the variety of forms markets take under financial capitalism, it is only just beginning to explore how these new forms impact firms’ relationships with workers, communities, and the state. This mini-conference theme will explore recent scholarship on the effects of financialization on workers, labor and community organizations, and the state. What are the challenges and opportunities facing workers and labor movements in the era of financialization? How have the ascendance of finance and the concomitant reorganization of markets altered the nature of firms’ accountability to workers, communities, and the state? What are the effects of financialization on labor markets and on worker inequality in different sectors? How has the globalization of financial flows shaped these processes, and to what extent are national institutions capable of regulating these effects?

"Regulating Labor and Environment: Beyond the Public-Private Divide" (SASE mini-conference)

1/3/2012

 
_SASE mini-conference on "Regulating Labor and Environment: Beyond the Public-Private Divide" (part of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics annual conference, June 28-30 at MIT)http://sase.org/mini-conferences/themes_fr_115.html

Regulating Labor and Environment: Beyond the Public-Private Divide, organizers:  Tim Bartley (Sociology, Indiana), Nicole Helmerich (Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies), Olga Malets (Forest and Environmental Policy, Technische Universität in Munich), Chikako Oka (School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London)

The goal of this mini-conference is to examine the dynamics and impact of labor and environmental regulation in the age of globalization. Whereas globalization in some ways challenges the enforcement of national labor and environmental standards, it has also opened up or inspired new channels for policy-makers, regulators, activists, consumers, workers, and managers to influence the behavior of firms around the world. These include both private regulation (e.g., certification systems, codes of conduct, etc.) and new or reinvigorated forms of state regulation. This mini-conference will explore the multiple linkages between global shifts in environmental and labor regulation and their local effects. We invite papers that bring new empirical evidence and/or theoretical clarity to questions such as: what are the implications of global shifts and transnational standards for the implementation of domestic regulatory projects? How is the implementation of transnational labor and environmental standards shaped by pre-existing (or reforming) domestic configurations of rights and regulation? Under what conditions are transnational standards effectively enforced locally, adapted by local actors (with either positive or negative implications), or circumvented? In what ways are transformations in domestic public regulation spilling over to affect global prescriptions about regulation, standard-setting, or corporate social responsibility? How do particular supply chain structures, production practices, or cultures of production and consumption promote or undermine compliance with public and private regulation? What are the unintended consequences of different regulatory forms and initiatives? More broadly, what should scholars and practitioners of public and private regulation be learning from each other? What can analyses of labor and the environment contribute to one another? We seek to garner enough theoretical, methodological, and regional diversity in the papers to foster exciting new conversations and insights.

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