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Papers by Steven Abraham

Springer eBooks, Oct 27, 2017

The Law governing private sector labor (union management) relations in the US railway and airline... more The Law governing private sector labor (union management) relations in the US railway and airline industries.

Social Science Research Network, 2014

The decline of unions in the U.S. is a salient issue for workers, and a number of studies have de... more The decline of unions in the U.S. is a salient issue for workers, and a number of studies have demonstrated the relationships between worker attitudes and unionization. The vast majority of this research pertains to workers’ attitudes toward the union as an organization, but little has examined workers attitudes to the union officials who are closest to them on a daily basis. As unions strive to maintain membership and support, research that addresses correlates of union members’ satisfaction with their work-site union representatives is needed. This study investigates factors associated with teachers’ assessment of the adequacy of the support they receive from their building union representatives. Study results show that teachers’ satisfaction with leadership communication, board of education practices, staff support, school pride, parent involvement, and the lack of gossip among employees are all associated with teachers’ rating of the support they receive from their building union representatives. Implications for the selection and preparation of work-site union representatives are discussed.

Production and Inventory Management Journal, 1998

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, 2021

We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-re... more We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-represented employee was alleged to have committed sexual harassment. We find that management punished sexual harassment more stringently over time and that arbitrators became more sensitive to whether or not good procedure was followed by management over time. Distributive justice was also a major concern for arbitrators. The results suggest that it is essential for management to exercise procedural justice in disciplining employees, but that it is just as important for management to consider distributive justice when it comes to imposing discipline for inappropriate behavior.

The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW ... more The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder wealth of corporations located in four states is evaluated here: Oklahoma (2000), Indiana (2012), Michigan (2012), and Wisconsin (2015). Event study results show that RTW had a positive effect on shareholder wealth in these states, albeit an effect that was lower in Michigan than elsewhere. We argue that this is indirect evidence in support of research indicating that RTW hinders union organizing, raises profits, and reduces nonunion employee compensation.

International Journal of Law and Management, 2017

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Ac... more Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s passage, as it imposed a number of restrictions on unions vis-à-vis management and instituted many rules regulating unions’ internal affairs. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses event study methodology, which examines the impact of the law’s passage on the shareholder returns to the firms likely to have been affected by the law. Three different samples are used. Shareholder returns are examined on critical dates associated with the passage of the law to assess whether it benefited the firms in the samples. Findings Shareholder returns to firms expected to have been affected by the LMRDA fell in comparison to their competitors’ returns, indicating that the law was viewed by investors as being beneficial for firms. Presumably, the restrictions the law placed on unions were judged to be more importa...

Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, 1994

It is widely recognized among scholars in industrial relations that "U.S. unions are in a crisis.... more It is widely recognized among scholars in industrial relations that "U.S. unions are in a crisis." ' As a result of the current situation in industrial relations, President Clinton established a commission entitled "On the Future of Worker-Management Relations," and one of the Commission's charges is to assess the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), the statute governing private sector labor relations in the United States. 2 The vast majority of provisions in the NLRA that

Strategic HR Review, 2017

PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their... more PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their employees and to discuss the potential benefits firms derive if their employees are unionized. There are benefits to firms if their employees are unionized, however, and firms whose workforces are unionized should take advantage of these benefits.Design/methodology/approachAnalysis and discussion of the drawbacks and benefits of unionization to firms.FindingsFirms benefit in two ways if their workforces are unionized. First, unionization reduces employee turnover. Second, employee involvement programs are generally more effective in unionized firms, while they are often held to be illegal in nonunion firms. Therefore, managers in unionized firms should work with the unions representing their employees to further reduce turnover and make Employee Involvement programs even more effective.Originality/valueAs employees sometimes opt to unionize despite firms’ wishes to the contrary, this pa...

Law & Society Review, 1992

Journal of Education for Business, 2020

To help instructors teach students the meaning of negotiations, and to help students understand t... more To help instructors teach students the meaning of negotiations, and to help students understand the different types of negotiations, we developed the "Negotiate to Survive" activity. In this activity, students work in teams to participate in both distributive and integrative negotiations, in an effort to help them understand the difference between the two. Statistical results show both that the activity helped students understand the difference between the two negotiation types and that they enjoyed participating in it. Student comments support the statistical results.

Journal of Labor Research, 2005

Journal of Human Resources Education, 2009

“The Zinnia”: A Collective Bargaining Simulation. This simulation accompanies Labor Relations: S... more “The Zinnia”: A Collective Bargaining Simulation. This simulation accompanies Labor Relations: Striking a Balance by John W. Budd. 2008. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. 608 pp.

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, 2010

ABSTRACT We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor rel... more ABSTRACT We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor relations climate during the period preceding recognition and that which immediately follows. Interviews with managers, interviews with union representatives, and surveys of workers indicate that card check typically results in a less prolonged, costly, and stressful recognition and negotiations process. Although the resulting contracts are often similar to those in other parts of a heavily unionized corporation, sometimes they reflect a different business context – and hence are somewhat more favorable to employers without being substantially less favorable to employees. This reality is reflected in the positive reaction of the U.S. stock markets to union recognition by an employer through a card check process. Employers make card check agreements primarily for business reasons, and investors respect their judgment as to the impact of such agreements on the bottom line.

International Journal of Manpower, 1997

As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governi... more As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two countries are substantially different. Further, the effects of these differences have been demonstrated empirically. Considers the differences between US and Canadian labour law in seven areas: certification procedures; first contract arbitration; new technologies; strike replacements; successorship; employee participation programmes and union security. Discusses the effects of the laws in these areas.

The Supreme Court has gradually narrowed the number of persons who are protected by the National ... more The Supreme Court has gradually narrowed the number of persons who are protected by the National Labor Relations Act should they seek to form or join a union, in part by ruling that professionals who also serve as supervisors of less skilled employees are not covered by the Act. The market’s reaction to the two latest rulings, Health Care &

Management Learning, 2018

Springer eBooks, Oct 27, 2017

The Law governing private sector labor (union management) relations in the US railway and airline... more The Law governing private sector labor (union management) relations in the US railway and airline industries.

Social Science Research Network, 2014

The decline of unions in the U.S. is a salient issue for workers, and a number of studies have de... more The decline of unions in the U.S. is a salient issue for workers, and a number of studies have demonstrated the relationships between worker attitudes and unionization. The vast majority of this research pertains to workers’ attitudes toward the union as an organization, but little has examined workers attitudes to the union officials who are closest to them on a daily basis. As unions strive to maintain membership and support, research that addresses correlates of union members’ satisfaction with their work-site union representatives is needed. This study investigates factors associated with teachers’ assessment of the adequacy of the support they receive from their building union representatives. Study results show that teachers’ satisfaction with leadership communication, board of education practices, staff support, school pride, parent involvement, and the lack of gossip among employees are all associated with teachers’ rating of the support they receive from their building union representatives. Implications for the selection and preparation of work-site union representatives are discussed.

Production and Inventory Management Journal, 1998

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, 2021

We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-re... more We examine the evolution of labor arbitration decisions between 1988 and 2018 in which a union-represented employee was alleged to have committed sexual harassment. We find that management punished sexual harassment more stringently over time and that arbitrators became more sensitive to whether or not good procedure was followed by management over time. Distributive justice was also a major concern for arbitrators. The results suggest that it is essential for management to exercise procedural justice in disciplining employees, but that it is just as important for management to consider distributive justice when it comes to imposing discipline for inappropriate behavior.

The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW ... more The long-debated impact of right-to-work (RTW) laws took on more urgency with the passage of RTW in additional states in the twenty-first century. The impact of RTW on shareholder wealth of corporations located in four states is evaluated here: Oklahoma (2000), Indiana (2012), Michigan (2012), and Wisconsin (2015). Event study results show that RTW had a positive effect on shareholder wealth in these states, albeit an effect that was lower in Michigan than elsewhere. We argue that this is indirect evidence in support of research indicating that RTW hinders union organizing, raises profits, and reduces nonunion employee compensation.

International Journal of Law and Management, 2017

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Ac... more Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). It is expected that returns would have increased in response to the law’s passage, as it imposed a number of restrictions on unions vis-à-vis management and instituted many rules regulating unions’ internal affairs. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses event study methodology, which examines the impact of the law’s passage on the shareholder returns to the firms likely to have been affected by the law. Three different samples are used. Shareholder returns are examined on critical dates associated with the passage of the law to assess whether it benefited the firms in the samples. Findings Shareholder returns to firms expected to have been affected by the LMRDA fell in comparison to their competitors’ returns, indicating that the law was viewed by investors as being beneficial for firms. Presumably, the restrictions the law placed on unions were judged to be more importa...

Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, 1994

It is widely recognized among scholars in industrial relations that "U.S. unions are in a crisis.... more It is widely recognized among scholars in industrial relations that "U.S. unions are in a crisis." ' As a result of the current situation in industrial relations, President Clinton established a commission entitled "On the Future of Worker-Management Relations," and one of the Commission's charges is to assess the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), the statute governing private sector labor relations in the United States. 2 The vast majority of provisions in the NLRA that

Strategic HR Review, 2017

PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their... more PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to discuss why firms are resistant to unionization of their employees and to discuss the potential benefits firms derive if their employees are unionized. There are benefits to firms if their employees are unionized, however, and firms whose workforces are unionized should take advantage of these benefits.Design/methodology/approachAnalysis and discussion of the drawbacks and benefits of unionization to firms.FindingsFirms benefit in two ways if their workforces are unionized. First, unionization reduces employee turnover. Second, employee involvement programs are generally more effective in unionized firms, while they are often held to be illegal in nonunion firms. Therefore, managers in unionized firms should work with the unions representing their employees to further reduce turnover and make Employee Involvement programs even more effective.Originality/valueAs employees sometimes opt to unionize despite firms’ wishes to the contrary, this pa...

Law & Society Review, 1992

Journal of Education for Business, 2020

To help instructors teach students the meaning of negotiations, and to help students understand t... more To help instructors teach students the meaning of negotiations, and to help students understand the different types of negotiations, we developed the "Negotiate to Survive" activity. In this activity, students work in teams to participate in both distributive and integrative negotiations, in an effort to help them understand the difference between the two. Statistical results show both that the activity helped students understand the difference between the two negotiation types and that they enjoyed participating in it. Student comments support the statistical results.

Journal of Labor Research, 2005

Journal of Human Resources Education, 2009

“The Zinnia”: A Collective Bargaining Simulation. This simulation accompanies Labor Relations: S... more “The Zinnia”: A Collective Bargaining Simulation. This simulation accompanies Labor Relations: Striking a Balance by John W. Budd. 2008. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. 608 pp.

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, 2010

ABSTRACT We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor rel... more ABSTRACT We present evidence regarding how a card check recognition process affects the labor relations climate during the period preceding recognition and that which immediately follows. Interviews with managers, interviews with union representatives, and surveys of workers indicate that card check typically results in a less prolonged, costly, and stressful recognition and negotiations process. Although the resulting contracts are often similar to those in other parts of a heavily unionized corporation, sometimes they reflect a different business context – and hence are somewhat more favorable to employers without being substantially less favorable to employees. This reality is reflected in the positive reaction of the U.S. stock markets to union recognition by an employer through a card check process. Employers make card check agreements primarily for business reasons, and investors respect their judgment as to the impact of such agreements on the bottom line.

International Journal of Manpower, 1997

As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governi... more As US firms expand into Canada, it becomes necessary for them to be aware of Canadian law governing labour and employment. Unlike what many might think, the laws in the two countries are substantially different. Further, the effects of these differences have been demonstrated empirically. Considers the differences between US and Canadian labour law in seven areas: certification procedures; first contract arbitration; new technologies; strike replacements; successorship; employee participation programmes and union security. Discusses the effects of the laws in these areas.

The Supreme Court has gradually narrowed the number of persons who are protected by the National ... more The Supreme Court has gradually narrowed the number of persons who are protected by the National Labor Relations Act should they seek to form or join a union, in part by ruling that professionals who also serve as supervisors of less skilled employees are not covered by the Act. The market’s reaction to the two latest rulings, Health Care &

Management Learning, 2018