Public Sector Labour Relations in the United States: Austerity, Politics and Policy

Arbeitsbeziehungen des öffentlichen Sektors in den Vereinigten Staaten: Austerität, Politics und Policy

Patrice M. Mareschal

Industrielle Beziehungen. Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management, 2017, vol. 24, issue 4, 450-471

Abstract: Public sector unions around the world are under threat from political forces. Combined, the financial crisis and austerity measures have challenged public sector unions’ legitimacy. In the U.S., the postrecession assault on public sector unions is rooted in political ideology, with not only a widening polarization along the liberal-conservative spectrum playing a key role, but cultural cognition and economic downturn, too. This research provides a comparative historical analysis of changes in public sector collective bargaining rights at state and local levels in 50 states. The article describes the variations in public sector industrial relations at the state and local levels in the short and medium term. It also proposes a theoretical model to explain similar and diverging patterns which can be observed across the states.

Keywords: public sector labour relations; United States; austerity; regional differences; Arbeitsbeziehungen des öffentlichen Sektors; USA; Austerität; regionale Differenzen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H61 H62 H63 J51 J52 J53 L32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:indbez:214853

DOI: 10.3224/indbez.v24i4.05

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