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- January 2023 (Revised November 2024)
- Technical Note
Legal Analysis: Labor Unions in the United States
By: Reshmaan Hussam, Trevor Fetter and Grace Liu
This note provides an overview of the regulation, mechanics, and history of labor unions in the United States, along with an overview of their place in the early 21st century. View Details
Hussam, Reshmaan, Trevor Fetter, and Grace Liu. "Legal Analysis: Labor Unions in the United States." Harvard Business School Technical Note 723-031, January 2023. (Revised November 2024.)
- January 2021
- Case
Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
In 2011, Daniel Herrero, CEO of Toyota Argentina (TASA) since 2010, was about to meet with the Secretary-General of the union representing automotive industry workers in the country. The company produced vehicles in Argentina since 1997 at their plant at Zárate, and,... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Bargaining; Production; Performance; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Fairness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina
Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)." Harvard Business School Case 721-394, January 2021.
- January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
- Supplement
Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). The strategy for moving forward was built on an... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Production; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Agreements and Arrangements; Strategic Planning; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina
Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-412, January 2021. (Revised March 2021.)
- March 2021
- Supplement
Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (C)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). In 2019, after achieving all the goals set forward... View Details
Keywords: Strategy; Alignment; Cooperation; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Goals and Objectives; Auto Industry; Latin America; South America; Argentina
Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-413, March 2021.
- September 2016
- Background Note
A Brief History of African American Leaders in Unions and the Labor Movement
By: Steven Rogers and Mercer Cook
This historically focused background note highlights the role of African American Labor Leaders in both the Labor Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. In doing so, it attempts to both highlight these noteworthy individuals and demonstrate the innate connection... View Details
Keywords: Wages; Working Conditions; Political History; Social History; Economic History; Business History; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Labor And Management Relations; Social Issues; Culture; Equality And Inequality; Rights; Leading Change; Race; Civil Society or Community; Labor Unions
Rogers, Steven, and Mercer Cook. "A Brief History of African American Leaders in Unions and the Labor Movement." Harvard Business School Background Note 317-004, September 2016.
- 14 Mar 2016
- Research & Ideas
The Surprising Connection between 1930s Weather and Today's Labor Unions
There’s something curious about the labor force in the United States. Identical jobs and industries have become unionized in some states while remaining nonunionized in others. View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- November 2006
- Case
Kroger Union Negotiations
By: Dennis A. Yao
A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during the mid-1980s. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions during a time of weak economic performance when management is seriously considering... View Details
- September 2009
- Article
Labor Market Institutions and Global Strategic Adaptation: Evidence from Lincoln Electric
By: Jordan I. Siegel and Barbara Zepp Larson
Although one of the central questions in the global strategy field is how multinational firms successfully navigate multiple and often conflicting institutional environments, we know relatively little about the effect of conflicting labor market institutions on... View Details
Keywords: Institutions; Labor Market; Complementarity; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Labor Unions; Laws and Statutes; Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Manufacturing Industry
Siegel, Jordan I., and Barbara Zepp Larson. "Labor Market Institutions and Global Strategic Adaptation: Evidence from Lincoln Electric." Management Science 55, no. 9 (September 2009): 1527–1546. (Although one of the central questions in the global strategy field is how multinational firms successfully navigate multiple and often conflicting institutional environments, we know relatively little about the effect of conflicting labor market institutions on multinational firms' strategic choice and operating performance. With its decision to invest in manufacturing operations in nearly every one of the world's largest welding
markets, Lincoln Electric offers us a quasi-experiment. We leverage a unique data set covering 1996–2006 that combines data on each host country's labor market institutions with data on each subsidiary's strategic choices and historical operating performance. We find that Lincoln Electric performed significantly better in countries with labor laws and regulations supporting manufacturers' interests and in countries that allowed the free
use of both piecework and a discretionary bonus. Furthermore, we find that in countries with labor market institutions unfriendly to manufacturers, Lincoln Electric was still able to overcome most (although not all) of the institutional distance by what we term flexible intermediate adaptation.)
- July 2007
- Case
Kroger Union Negotiations 2005
By: Dennis A. Yao and Mary L. Shelman
A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during 2005. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions in addition to meeting the new competitive challenges presented by Wal-Mart's expansion in the... View Details
- May 1999 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
European Monetary Union
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Sabina M. Ciminero
On January 1, 1999, 11 European countries unified their currencies--48 years after their first integrative efforts. This marks a huge development in the structure of Europe and the world's economy. This case examines the integrative process, the Single Europe Act and... View Details
Keywords: Money; Currency; Globalized Economies and Regions; Markets; International Relations; Alliances; System; Integration; Macroeconomics; Business and Government Relations; European Union
Vietor, Richard H.K., and Sabina M. Ciminero. "European Monetary Union." Harvard Business School Case 799-131, May 1999. (Revised December 2003.)
- June 1991 (Revised March 1995)
- Case
Organized Labor and the Worker
A vehicle for the discussion of labor unions and working people from the Civil War to the end of World War I. View Details
McCraw, Thomas K. "Organized Labor and the Worker." Harvard Business School Case 391-256, June 1991. (Revised March 1995.)
- October 2021 (Revised November 2022)
- Case
The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats, or Leveling Down?
By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella and Elena Corsi
Since 1978, Spain had struggled to control unemployment. The country’s labor law was protective of employees hired long-term and companies used temporary contracts as buffers. In 2012, amid economic recession and a 23.6% unemployment rate, a center-right government of... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor Market; Unemployment; Recession; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; International Relations; Working Conditions; Employment; Labor Unions; Contracts; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Spain; European Union
Pons, Vincent, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella, and Elena Corsi. "The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats, or Leveling Down?" Harvard Business School Case 722-008, October 2021. (Revised November 2022.)
- February 2023 (Revised October 2023)
- Case
Amazon and the Future of Organized Labor
By: Reshmaan Hussam, Trevor Fetter and Grace Liu
From their peak in the 1950s, private-sector labor unions in the United States declined rapidly in membership and influence, decade after decade. But growing inequality—especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic—sparked new interest in labor and organizing.... View Details
Hussam, Reshmaan, Trevor Fetter, and Grace Liu. "Amazon and the Future of Organized Labor." Harvard Business School Case 723-030, February 2023. (Revised October 2023.)
- December 1998 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Han Young Labor Dispute (A), The
Examines the evolution of a labor dispute at the Han Young maquiladora in Tijuana, Mexico. The dispute began over union representation at a 120-worker company, but soon escalated into a source of tension between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and a test for the... View Details
Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; International Relations; Labor Unions; Trade; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Government Relations; Canada; United States; Mexico
Kennedy, Robert E., and Brian Irwin. "Han Young Labor Dispute (A), The." Harvard Business School Case 799-084, December 1998. (Revised October 1999.)
- March–April 2024
- Article
Case Study: Navigating Labor Unrest
By: Jorge Tamayo
Paulo Ferreira, the president of Luna Brazil, has an ambitious plan to turn around the dismal performance of the plant he oversees in Campinas. The wrinkle is, he needs the buy-in of the powerful local union, which is still smarting from a 10-year-old labor conflict... View Details
Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Layoffs; Manufacturing; Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict and Resolution; Performance Improvement; Corporate Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Brazil
Tamayo, Jorge. "Case Study: Navigating Labor Unrest." Harvard Business Review 102, no. 2 (March–April 2024): 144–149.
- November 2011 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
The Freelancers Union (A)
By: Michel Anteby and Erin McFee
Sara Horowitz faces a major strategic decision. Founder and CEO of the Freelancers Union, Horowitz has worked tirelessly to operationalize her new mutualist ideals, which comprise collective strength, independence, and shared protections. In 2008, she plans to move the... View Details
Keywords: Labor Unions
Anteby, Michel, and Erin McFee. "The Freelancers Union (A)." Harvard Business School Case 412-056, November 2011. (Revised May 2013.)
- 2025
- Working Paper
How Does Wage Inequality Affect the Labor Movement
By: Barbara Biasi, Zoë B. Cullen, Julia H. Gilman and Nina Roussille
This paper provides causal evidence on how wage inequality among workers affects the labor movement using three complementary research designs: a vignette experiment with union organizers, a natural policy experiment that increased wage inequality among Wisconsin... View Details
Biasi, Barbara, Zoë B. Cullen, Julia H. Gilman, and Nina Roussille. "How Does Wage Inequality Affect the Labor Movement." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 33978, July 2025.
- February 2016
- Article
Labor Unemployment Insurance and Earnings Management
By: Yiwei Dou, Mozaffar N. Khan and Youli Zou
There is relatively little prior evidence on the potential impact of rank and file employees on financial reporting choices outside union negotiations. We contribute to the literature by providing new evidence that firms appear to manage long-run earnings upward in... View Details
Dou, Yiwei, Mozaffar N. Khan, and Youli Zou. "Labor Unemployment Insurance and Earnings Management." Journal of Accounting & Economics 61, no. 1 (February 2016): 166–184.
- December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
- Exercise
Negotiating Peace Accords in Bellicoso for the Head of the Bellicosan Labor Union (BLU): General Instructions and Confidential Information
Bellicoso is a multi-party conflict resolution simulation based loosely on the bitter civil war in El Salvador. It is designed to explore issues in: 1) the management of interactions between external negotiations between sides and internal negotiations within them, 2)... View Details
Keywords: War; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Government and Politics; Conflict and Resolution; El Salvador
"Negotiating Peace Accords in Bellicoso for the Head of the Bellicosan Labor Union (BLU): General Instructions and Confidential Information." Harvard Business School Exercise 899-088, December 1998. (Revised May 1999.)
- July 2003 (Revised January 2013)
- Background Note
Note on Organized Labor in U.S. Public Education
Surveys the history, structure, and activities of the two dominant U.S. teachers unions—the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The NEA and AFT represent approximately 90% of U.S. public school teachers and have grown... View Details
Leschly, Stig. "Note on Organized Labor in U.S. Public Education." Harvard Business School Background Note 804-018, July 2003. (Revised January 2013.)