"We were organized to do a job for working people. We were organized to fight for unity and understanding. We were organized to try to bring people together so that they can struggle together, without any distinctions of race, creed, color or religious or political faith."

About

Since 2005, the Bridges Center has received funding from the Washington State Legislature to support research by UW faculty on labor-related issues in Washington State.

The grant encourages scholars to apply their national or global research in ways that demonstrate implications for, or relevance to, the State of Washington.

To apply for funding, click here.

ILWU Contract Negotiations: The Confluence of Politics, Economics and Labor

Margaret Levi, Political Science
Devin Kelly, Sociology
Jon Agnone, Sociology

At a time when union membership and political strength has declined, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has maintained and arguably increased their control of the waterfront work environment as well as their political clout.

Given that two of the busiest ports on the West Coast are located in Tacoma and Seattle, the union's structural position and political strength have vast implications for Washington State, their contract negotiations in particular.

ILWU Contract Negotiations: The Confluence of Politics, Economics and Labor examines the ILWU's important role in state and federal-level economy and politics, focusing on how the union uses a privileged economic position to respond to and influence government action.

Using over seventy years of union newspapers and International Convention minutes, the report tracks when and how the government uses political intervention and legislation to limit ILWU power on and off the docks. It then examines how the ILWU uses lobbying, legislation and activism to maintain its power and push its larger political agenda. Preliminary findings suggest the ILWU is highly effective in lobbying over dock and union-related issues, but less so with broader economic and social issues. However, they are most likely much more successful than other unions.

The bulk of the research's data analysis and an initial paper draft is complete. The authors are currently securing data for more recent years and hope to have a final draft done soon.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2008-2009

Latinos, Labor, and New Campaign Dynamics

Matt Barreto, Political Science

Reflecting trends across the country, Latinos are the largest minority group in Washington State and their numbers are growing. As a result, Latino voters are being targeted more vigorously and concertedly than ever by political campaigns. At the same time, growth in the state's Latino population has contributed to an increase in union membership among laborers, service employees, machinists, and agricultural workers. Unions are also commonly targeted to get out the vote in political campaigns.

This study will explore how the voter mobilization of Latinos and unions are connected. For instance, research has shown Latino union members are more likely to vote than other groups. Are they responding to the messages targeting Latinos, or the messages targeting unions?

Through a controlled experiment, this study will test the response of Latino and non-Latino voters to various campaign advertisements related to union and non-union themes. The study will identify the role of Latinos in the changing dynamics of how unions engage the political system and mobilize their membership base.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2008-2009

Mapping the Balance Between Earning and Caregiving:
The Space-Time Constraints and Workplace Flexibility of Urban Professionals

Kim England, Department of Geography, and Anna Haley-Lock, School of Social Work

Do professionals of color have different experiences than white professionals balancing their lives with paid work? What effects does the location of home, employment and dependent care arrangements - and the resulting commute - have on that balance? Do work and dependent care schedules compound those potential effects?

This study will address these questions and others, working to bridge gaps in existing research on the interplay of paid work and caregiving. Focus groups and surveys of Seattle professionals will investigate how where they live, work, and obtain dependent care; their schedules for their jobs and dependent care; and their access to an array of employer practices such as flexibility, shape their experiences with managing dual earning and caregiving.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2008-2009

The Past and Future of Health Coverage in the United States

Margaret Levi, Political Science
Rebecca Szper, Political Science

As current national debates make clear, the United States health care system has been in crisis for decades. Historically, the business community has opposed nationalized health care, setting the stage for the current system of employer-provided coverage.

Meanwhile, without a national government health care plan, individual states have adopted local fixes. Washington State is one of several that have taken steps towards comprehensive health care reform.

What has labor's role been in shaping health care reform in Washington state? This project will attempt to answer this question through interviews with state labor organizations, a close study of union policy and state legislation, and other historical research.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2009-2010

The Rise of Mega DCs: Geographic and Structural Change in the U.S. Warehousing Industry

Derik Andreoli, Department of Geography: Anne Goodchild, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Kate Vitasek, Managing Partner, Supply Chain Visions

Warehousing employment in the U.S. grew at an annually compounded growth rate of 25.3% between 1998 and 2005. The industry also witnessed the emergence of mega distribution centers – warehouses greater than 500,000 square feet that employ more than 100 workers and utilize emerging information technologies. While growth was driven by forces of globalization, it was enabled by information technologies which allow establishments to pursue efficiencies associated with economies of scale.

In The Rise of Mega DCs, the authors' analysis indicates that growth in the warehousing industry has neither been geographically even nor has it followed previous geographic patterns. At the state level, a statistically significant inverse relationship exists between location quotients and local factors components of growth (r = -0.59). These findings indicate that the sources of competitive advantage have changed as the industry has restructured and that there were clear 'winners' and 'losers.'

In the final section of the report, the authors explore how technologies and structural change have impacted employment structures and wages at the aggregate level. They find that as a proportion of total employment, management and sales occupations have declined while production occupations and transportation occupations have grown. Associating wages with occupational restructuring, they see that the industry average has declined as the fastest growing occupations pay below average salaries.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2007-2008

Washington State Policy and the Demand for Part-Time Faculty at Community Colleges

Dan Jacoby, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell

Heavy reliance upon low-wage part-time faculty, especially in our nation's community colleges is drawing increasing attention, particularly as studies find negative impacts upon student completion rates. As part of a national effort, the American Federation of Teachers advanced the Faculty and College Excellence [FACE] campaign and in 2007 introduced legislation in Washington State to curb the use of part-time faculty. Similar to bills in other states, Washington State HB 1875 and SB 5514 seek to ensure that full-time faculty would teach 75% of undergraduate classes.

The legislative agenda proceeds despite several large unknowns, which are the subject of Professor Dan Jacoby's research. Using data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, this study estimates supply and demand for part-time faculty by introducing a new measure of part-time faculty wages. The study finds demand for part-time faculty in community colleges across the nation is sensitive to part-time wage rates. The research also makes note of a number of difficulties suggesting the need for better wage data.

The study finds that schools in which unions do not involve part-time faculty tend to have higher part-time faculty rates. That effect is offset when part-time faculty are members of the bargaining units. Additionally, this study finds that the demand for part-time faculty is significantly higher when states enroll graduate students in high proportion relative to community colleges.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2007-2008

Day Laborers at Risk: Developing Strategies for a Hazardous Workplace

Noah Seixas, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Janice Camp, Environmental Health

Working in hazardous industries with few legal protections, day laborers have unique health and safety concerns. Seixas and Camp discusse the development of safety trainings for day laborers in Seattle, Washington through surveys and focus groups.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2006-2007

Economic Restructuring, Policy Change, and the Impacts on Labor in the Forest Products Industry: Implications for Washington State through a Cascadian Lens

Brendan Sweeney, Department of Geography

Since the 1980s, the forest products industries in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia have changed considerably. Drawing on interviews with union executives and workers, Brendan Sweeney examines the current state of the region's forest industries from labor's perspective. What is labor's current position in the industry, and what opportunities exist for labor's renewal?

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2007-2008

An Examination of Longitudinal Attrition, Retention and Mobility Rates of Beginning Teachers in Washington State

Margaret Plecki, Ana Elfers, and Michael Knapp, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, College of Education

At what rates do new teachers change schools or districts, or quit teaching altogether? And what are the factors influencing their decisions? By examining the attrition, retention, and mobility patterns of beginning teachers in Washington State over a five year period, this study seeks to improve knowledge about the beginning teacher workforce in order to improve educational policies.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2005-2006

Freedom of Expression of Farm Workers in Washington State

April B. Brinkman, Urban Studies Program, University of Washington, Tacoma

Undocumented workers and farm workers in particular face many challenges to exercising their full legal and political rights to free expression. April Brinkman illustrates how restrictive living and working conditions in Washington State prevent farm workers from exercising their rights, and looks at examples of how these workers have successfully spoken out, against all odds.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2005-2006

How Do Computers and Internet Affect Employee Compensation?

Ming Fan, Debabrata Dey, and Gang Peng, Department of Information Systems & Operations Management, Business School

Information technology, particularly computers and the Internet, has affected workers significantly in the past two decades. Fan, Dey and Peng's study explores the effects of information technology on factors including individual work practices, productivity, and wages. Comparing Washington State and national averages, the authors' identify important technology-related policy implications for the State.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2005-2006

Overlooked and Undercounted: Wages, Work, and Poverty in Washington State

Diana Pearce, Center for Women's Welfare, School of Social Work

Outdated and highly criticized, the Federal Poverty Level underestimates poverty, leaving a large and diverse group of families overlooked and undercounted. By applying a more realistic and specific reading of economic well-being, Pearce's report reveals the "overlooked and undercounted" of Washington State, describing the extent and nature of the hidden hardships all too many Washingtonians are facing.

Funded by Washington State Research Grant, 2006-2007