Practical Global Labor Law

Practical Global Labor Law provides a comparative analysis of collective labor law in three countries as seen through the prism of a case study involving pending layoffs at a manufacturing plant leading to worker collective action and unionization.

This book is designed as a student reader, introducing comparative perspectives for students studying domestic or international labor law. With a focus on U.S., Mexican and Belgian collective labor law, the book examines both the de jure and de facto effect of these countries' collective labor regimes on the case study.

The book begins with an introduction to the countries to be studied, including the sources and enforcement mechanisms of collective labor law and their historic, economic and social context. Following chapters focus on the case study, examining how each jurisdiction's collective labor system deals with workers seeking trade union representation, issues of anti-union discrimination, the use of economic leverage tactics, and the negotiation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements. Each of these topics is examined from the perspective of how the law impacts on workers, trade unions and employers.

A final chapter contains a commentary by the authors highlighting lessons to be derived from the comparative analysis and a discussion of the efficacy of collective labor law for protecting employer and worker interests.

This book is part of the Contextual Approach Series, edited by Andrew J. McClurg, Professor and Herff Chair of Excellence in Law, The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.