The paper deals with the regulatory gaps that resulted in devastating and scandalizing wages and working conditions in the German meat industry for more than two decades.
Wed, 10/01/2025, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
We study the role of union heterogeneity in shaping wages and inequality among unionized workers. Using linked employer-employee data from Brazil and job moves across multi-firm unions, we estimate over 4,800 union-specific pay premia. Unions explain 3–4% of earnings variation. While unions raise wages on average, the standard deviation in union effects is large (6-7%). Validating our approach, wages fall in markets with higher vs. lower union premia following a nationwide right-to-work law. Linking premia to detailed data on union attributes, we find that unions with strike activity, collective bargaining agreements, internal competition, and skilled leaders secure higher wages. High-premium unions compress wage gaps by education while the average union exacerbates them. Post right-to-work, however, worker support for high-premium unions falls when between-group bargaining differentials are large. Our findings show that unions are not a monolith—their structure and actions shape their wage effects and, consequently, worker support.
Fri, 10/31/2025, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
While it is well-known that spillovers occur between workplaces and civic society, examinations are largely limited to employee voice effects on distal acts like voting. Spillovers between broader employment experiences and socio-politically extreme belief formation are less developed. We theorize that positive employment experiences reduce individual-level socio-politically extreme beliefs through control loss mitigation, anxiety reductions, and exposure to new perspectives. We also propose heterogeneous job empowerment effects.
Wed, 11/05/2025, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
In this talk co-sponsored by the Center for Global Work & Employment and Rutgers Global-China Office, Xueguang Zhou (Stanford University) will present on his forthcoming book, The Logic of Governance in China: An Organizational Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2022). This book summarized his decade-long fieldwork and research on various aspects of governance practice in contemporary China.
Thu, 04/28/2022 - 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Join the Center for Global Work and Employment on April 18, 2022 for a presentation by Mark Anner (Penn State University) on his recent International Labour Review piece “Three labour governance mechanisms for addressing decent work deficits in global value chains.”
Mon, 04/18/2022 - 4:00pm-5:30pm
Join the Center for Global Work and Employment and Rutgers Business School on February 25, 2022 for an online discussion with Sarosh Kuruvilla (Cornell University) on his recent book “Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains: Problems, Progress, and Prospects.”
Fri, 02/25/2022 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Join us for this book launch event for LERA Research Volume 2021, "Revaluing Work(ers)" edited by SMLR's Tobias Schulze-Cleven and Todd E. Vachon
Wed, 10/27/2021 - 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Join the Center for Global Work and Employment and Center for European Studies on September 29 for an online roundtable discussion of the German federal election results.
Wed, 09/29/2021 - 11:00am - 1:00pm
Join the Center for Global Work and Employment for a hybrid discussion and Q&A featuring William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the University of Cambridge.
Wed, 09/15/2021 - 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
There is a popular English proverb: “cometh the hour, cometh the man,” the idea that right leaders will come to fore during times of uncertainty & crisis. Today this is indelibly linked to Churchill & his leadership during World War II. For many leaders across the world, “the hour” comes in times of market/business turmoil and now has come again with the COVID-19 pandemic. This talk not only grounds the topic in relevant research but uses international examples and cases to bring the topic ‘to life.’
Tue, 04/13/2021
Join Dr. Greg Distelhorst, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto for a conversation on "Order Overload? Demand Spikes and Labor Violations in Global Supply Chains. All are welcome.
Fri, 12/18/20
A Virtual Discussion and Q&A Hosted by the Center for Global Work and Employment. This event was held in cooperation with SMLR’s Labor Education Action Research Network (LEARN) and the Transatlantic Labor Institute (TLI).
Thu, 06/18/20
Online
