scholarly journals Public-sector Unions and Government Policy

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-485
Author(s):  
George R. Crowley ◽  
Scott A. Beaulier
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Employment ◽  
Political Contributions ◽  
Public Sector Union ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Recent events, including the failed recall of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Chicago teachers strike, have shed light on the relationship between state fiscal policy and public-sector union power. While a literature has developed focusing on various aspects of the link between public-sector unions and government policy, scholars have yet to reach consensus. In most cases, public-sector unions have multiple tools they can use to influence policy. We find that union political contributions and collective bargaining are associated with higher incomes for state and local employees and with higher public employment, both across state and local governments overall as well as within the education sector. We also find relatively little evidence that union activity influences total spending.

scholarly journals Toronto Civic Workers Bargaining Without a Base: The Significance of 2012

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Fanelli
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
City Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Workplace Democracy ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

This article explores how the politics and economics of austerity has influenced collective bargaining between the CUPE Locals 79/416 and the city of Toronto. I explore the relationship between neoliberalism and workplace precarity, drawing attention to the importance of the municipal public sector to trade unionism and the political potential of urbanized Left-labour radicalism. Following this, I provide an overview of the repeated attempts by City Council to extract concessions from unionized workers with a focus on the concession-filled 2012 round of bargaining and its relationship to earlier rounds. In what follows I discuss the implications of austerity bargaining for Locals 79 and 416 members, drawing attention to the repercussions this may have for other public sector workers. To conclude, I propose an alternative political strategy for municipal public sector unions, stressing the importance of a radicalized labour approach. It is my contention that this requires the development of both alternative policies and an alternative politics rooted in demands for workplace democracy and social justice.

Disconnects in Megaregional Freight Planning Are Holding Back the Louisiana Gulf Coast

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
Bethany M. Stich ◽  
Peter Webb
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Freight Transportation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Freight Planning ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Holding Back ◽  
The Relationship

The megaregion has emerged as the preferred unit of analysis for freight transportation and global trade. In the United States, trade and transportation barriers of state boundaries can impede the formation of megaregions, resulting in the hampering of economic development. As a preliminary investigation of the Gulf Coast megaregion, we performed a content analysis of the relationship between freight-related themes in the comprehensive and long-range plans for the metropolitan areas and the respective 11 parishes (counties) in southeastern Louisiana. Our results indicated a slight correlation between freight transportation infrastructure resources and theme frequencies in the histograms, but an overall lack of planning focus on freight infrastructure or trade capacities throughout the study area. Although freight transportation is becoming important federally, Louisiana state and local governments do not fully plan for it, leading to outdated transportation systems, inefficiency, and congestion.

Public Sector Unions, Corporatism, and Macroeconomic Performance

1999 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEOFFREY GARRETT ◽  
CHRISTOPHER WAY
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Labor Movements ◽  
Macroeconomic Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

What accounts for the apparent breakdown of the positive relationship between powerful trade union organizations and macroeconomic performance? Is corporatism a relic of a different age, a luxury of the long postwar boom? Although the authors answer the latter question in the negative, they do contend that existing arguments about the macroeconomic consequences of corporatism should be significantly modified to take into account the impact of the growth of public sector unions on the relationship between institutional structure of labor movements and economic outcomes. The deteriorating performance commonly attributed to corporatism in the 1980s was limited to countries in which unions in the public sector and other sectors not exposed to international competition increasingly dominated national labor movements. Encompassing trade union movements can still generate wage restraint, but only where the union movement is dominated by unions in the exposed sector that are subject to the constraints posed by international market competition.

scholarly journals Renewal in Canadian Public Sector Unions

2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Camfield
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Sector Reform ◽  
Public Sector Union ◽  
Union Activity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Movement Unionism ◽  
Limited Success ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
Union Renewal

Challenges from employers and governments and the limited success of public sector union responses suggest the need for renewal in Canadian public sector unions. This article engages with discussions of union renewal by way of theoretically conceptualizing the modes of union praxis relevant to Canadian unions. It then examines the nature of neoliberal public sector reform and assesses the experiences of Canadian public sector unions under neoliberalism. In this difficult context, unions that are able to make progress in the interconnected development of greater democracy and power will be more capable of channelling workers’ concerns into union activity. This, along with international and Canadian evidence, highlights the significance of the praxis of social movement unionism to union renewal in the public sector.

The Emergence of Local Government Policy Leadership

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Blair ◽  
Anthony M. Starke
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
State Government ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
National Government ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Local Government Policy

State and local governments traditionally exerted leadership in policy areas that directly affected their communities and citizens. The leadership of cities, however, has expanded into a number of policy areas where the states and the national government have reduced their policy footprint. This article summarizes research on local policy leadership, examines it within the context of historical state–local intergovernmental relations, and reviews three expanding policy areas. As creatures of state government, localities are subject to legislative restrictions; however, recent research reveals a significant upsurge of state governments preempting policy actions of local governments. Therefore, it can be concluded that the flame of local government policy leadership burns brightly now, but forces appear to be gathering that may cause it to flicker.

scholarly journals Goal Setting of Youth Practices of Participatory Budgeting

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Natalia G. Ivanova ◽  
Vitalii A. Fedosov
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Standard Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Participatory budgeting in the Russian Federation is experiencing a new round of development. The practices of participatory budgeting, which are implemented by state and local governments, are becoming more and more diverse. Some of them involve people who are not well-represented in standard practices, for example, people with disabilities, young people etc. The authors conduct a study of the development of participatory budgeting practices for young people, highlight their characteristic features, and summarize foreign and Russian experience. A key aspect of designing the practice of participatory budgeting is its goal setting. The article systematizes the goals of participatory budgeting practices for “adults” and, based on the available data, determines the priorities of goal setting for youth participatory budgeting practices. The authors substantiate the relationship between the practices of participatory budgeting for young people and programs to improve budget literacy.

scholarly journals Can State & Local Government Consolidation Really Save Money?

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph N. Heiney
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Consolidation ◽  
State And Local

The recent economic crisis was especially damaging to state and local governments financial situations. One suggested solution to these difficulties is to consolidate smaller political jurisdictions into larger ones to reduce costs. This paper presents a theoretical model for the determination of wages and salaries in the public sector with implications for the variation of public sector salaries across jurisdictions of different sizes. Data is presented for public school teachers salaries in Illinois by district size which shows that salaries are higher in larger districts. This would seem to suggest that consolidating smaller school districts into larger ones will result in higher salaries, leading to the question: Will political consolidation really save money?

Public Sector Unions Need the Private Sector or Why the Wisconsin Protests Were Not Labor's Lazarus Moment

The Forum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ahlquist
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Labor Movement ◽  
Marked Decrease ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
Secular Decline ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Public Sector Unionism

I argue that the extension of collective bargaining rights and formation of public sector labor unions requires the prior existence of these rights among significant sections of the private sector economy. The secular decline in private sector unionization will undermine the political bases of support for public sector unions. I demonstrate that public sector unionism emerged where private sector unions were initially strong. Declining private sector unionism has led to a marked decrease in support for public sector unions. The diminution of their allies in the private sector and the prospect of extended periods of austerity at the state and local level have put public sector unions in a precarious position that Republican governors and legislatures are taking full advantage of. The prospects for renewal in the labor movement are dim.

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