WA State Labor Research

In-depth labor policy and industry analysis in Washington State

Labor Studies Research

Important faculty and graduate student research across disciplines

Working Groups

Original research based in faculty/community partnerships

Working Papers Series

Lectures and scholarly papers published by the Bridges Center

Web-Based Programs

Educational websites supported by the Bridges Center

Other Projects

Conferences, forums and other special projects

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Accumulating Disadvantage: The Growth in the Black-White Wage Gap Among Women

Raine Dozier, Department of Sociology

Over the past two decades, regardless of the economic climate, wage gaps between black and white women have doubled. Black women suffered most in the chilly economic climate of the 1980s and benefited least during the economic expansion of the 1990s. Raine Dozier examines these trends using the sociological research methods of decomposition and relative distribution.

Awarded Best Graduate Student Paper, 2006-2007

Policy by Contract:
Social pacts in Australia and New Zealand

John S. Ahlquist, Department of Political Science

Between 1983 and 1996, Labor governments came to power in both New Zealand and Australia. In Australia, organized labor strengthened its economic and political power, signing a formal pact with the government. Labor fared worse in New Zealand as the government pursued radical deregulation. Speaking with policy makers in both countries and drawing on theories of contracts and social pacts, John Ahlquist explains the different experiences of labor in these two otherwise similar countries.

Awarded Best Graduate Student Paper, 2007-2008

'Speak out when others grow silent:' The Messenger,
the IWW and Debates over New Negro Radicalism

George Robertson, History Major

Following World War I, African American labor radicals sought to develop new theories and new practices in the face of increasing racism and political repression. Looking at The Messenger, the era's largest and most influential leftwing black monthly, George Robertson surveys the political debates among African American labor radicals, and studies their relationship with the predominantly white radical labor organization, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Awarded Best Undergraduate Student Paper, 2007-2008

Waterfront Unionism in Seattle and Tacoma, 1887-1958

Nowell Bamberger, Political Science major

Despite sharing economic, geographic and political environments, Local 19 (Seattle) and Local 23 (Tacoma) of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union took different paths in their early history - one radical, the other more conservative. Yet despite their divergent histories, the union locals today appear to be in very similar situations. Nowell Bamberger examines the differences and similarities of the two locals, looking for insights into union democracy and solidarity.

Awarded Best Undergraduate Student Paper, 2005-2006

Prize-Winning
Papers

A complete listing of all prize-winning papers in Labor Studies, in reverse chronological order from the present to 1992.

Complete Listing

2009-2010

Best Undergraduate Paper

Brotherhood across the sea: Black internationalism and transnational labor solidarity in the National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards, 1945-1955
George Robertson, History

Best Graduate Paper

Racial Inequality in Wealth: Do Labor Unions Matter?
Jon Agnone, Sociology

2008-2009

Best Undergraduate Paper

Press Openness in China: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Labor Disputes
Vi L. Nahn, Political Science and International Studies

2007-2008

Best Undergraduate Paper

'Speak out when others grow silent:' The Messenger, the IWW and Debates over New Negro Radicalism
George Roberston, History

Best Graduate Paper

Policy by Contract: Social pacts in Australia and New Zealand
John Ahlquist, Political Science

2006-2007

Best Undergraduate Paper

The Trend of Union Density in the United States and Canada: Why the Divide?
Melanie Harding, Political Science

Best Graduate Paper

Accumulating Disadvantage: The Growth in the Black-White Wage Gap Among Women
Raine Dozier, Sociology

2005-2006

Best Undergraduate Paper

Waterfront Unionism in Seattle and Tacoma, 1887-1958
Nowell Bamberger, Political Science

Labor, Culture, and the Roots of an Asian American Radical Tradition: The Case of Filipino Workers during the Interwar Years
Simeon Man

Best Graduate Paper

The Context of Discrimination: Workplace Conditions, Institutional Environments, and Race and Sex Discrimination Charges
Elizabeth Hirsch and Sabino Kornrich, Sociology

2003-2004

Best Undergraduate Paper

Ages, Regions, Finances & Efficiencies: An Examination of an ILWU Constitutional Amendment and its Affect Upon Union Democracy
Devin Kelly, Sociology

Best Graduate Paper

No Separate Peace: Militant Protest, Civil Disorder, and the Struggle for Affirmative Action in the Seattle Building and Construction Trades Unions
Trevor Griffey, History

2002-2003

Best Undergraduate Paper

Pike Place Market: The Transformation of the Cultural Landmark
Erin Peinado

Best Graduate Paper

'So much life': Retrenchment in the Cold War
Roberta Gold, History

2000-2001

Best Undergraduate Paper

Essay documenting how little most employees could expect from stock options
Bryan Rogowsky

Best Graduate Paper

Research on the affect of immigrants on the metropolitan work force
April Linton

1999-2000

Best Undergraduate Paper

La Raza Comes to Campus: The New Chicano Contingent and Grape Boycott at the University of Washington, 1968-69
Jeremy Simer, Political Science

Best Graduate Paper

Together and Unequal: Nonlinear and Interaction Effects of Occupational Sex Composition on Men's and Women's Wages
Erich Steinman, Sociology

1997-1998

Best Undergraduate Paper

Huelga!: The Yakima Valley Hop Strikes of 1970
Tino Castañeda

Best Graduate Paper

Seattle's 'Restaurant Maids': An Historic Context Document for Waitresses' Union, Local 240, 1900-1940
Carole Davison, Urban Planning

1996-1997

Best Undergraduate Paper

Power Plays - A Tail of Two Strikes: The Evolution of the Seattle Guild and its Changing Relationship with Teamster Leader David Beck in 1936 and 1937
Dan O'Neill

Best Graduate Paper

Green Havoc: Panama Disease, Environmental Change and the Organization of Production in the Central American Banana Industry
Steve Marquart

1994-1995

Best Undergraduate Paper

At-Will Employment: A freely Entered Contract Allowing for Employer Intrusion into Employees' Private Lives
Alissa Eden Halperin

1993-1994

Best Undergraduate Paper

A Virtual Revolution
Susan Brown, Political Science

American Labor, Bibliographical Essay
Linda Anderson, Political Science

Best Graduate Paper

Democracy without Rights: Corporate Legal Theory, Freedom of Speech, and the Possibilities of Workplace Cooperation
Richard Marens, School of Law

1992-1993

Best Undergraduate Paper

From Neocorporatism to Neoliberalism: Spanish Domestic Politics in the European Community
Tiffany Meyers, Political Science

Best Graduate Paper

The Legitimation of Reproduction: Contested Meanings of Pregnancy in the American Workplace
Mark Edwards, Sociology