Stout to hold program on collective bargaining

• University of Wisconsin-Stout

University of Wisconsin-Stout

Talk about it

MENOMONIE — Three University of Wisconsin-Stout professors will discuss collective bargaining as part of the university’s Social Science Speaker Series.

“Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector: A Panel Presentation and Discussion” will be held 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, in room 321 of the Applied Arts Building.

The program is free and open to the public.

Topics will include the history, economics and sociological dimensions of recent struggles over public sector collective bargaining in Wisconsin.

Alexander Kirby, history and political science, will put what he refers to as the current “anti-union climate” in historical context. He will examine how corporate America worked to marginalize unions by linking them to unpopular causes, like communism, and events, such as strikes that disrupted the American consumer economy. He also will examine mistakes made by unions themselves that cost them public support.

Richard Tyson, economics and ad hoc arbitrator for the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, will discuss the nature, purpose, prevalence and historical development of collective bargaining in the U.S.; how collective bargaining in the public sector differs from the private sector; how public sector bargaining is done in Wisconsin; and how the state budget repair bill changes public sector labor relations and its implications.

Jeffrey Sweat, sociology, will explore how Wisconsin compares to states that prohibit public sector collective bargaining. He will consider the claims of public sector over-compensation and the widespread use of what he calls “crisis capitalism.”

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