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Death of Labor Law?
July 30, 2006

The Death of Labor Law? by Cynthia L. Estlund, Professor of Law at New York University Law School, Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 2, December 2006.

Here is a provocative article that seeks to find a correlation between three "declines" in the field of organized labor:

• The decline of labor law. Essentially, Estlund argues that the National Labor Relations Act really never changes, and thus is "ossified."
• The decline of labor law scholarship. Apparently, without changes in the law, the scholars have little to write about.
• The decline of organized labor. Organized labor has declined, and Estlund is one who pins much of blame on the fact that labor law has exhibited "rigidity in the face of change."

Cynthia Estlund is Professor of Law at New York University Law School, where she teaches labor law, employment law and a course called Labor Standards and the Regulation of Work.

The abstract:

This review tells three interlocking tales of decline, each with its respective prognosis for recovery: the declines of labor law scholarship, labor law, and organized labor. The relationship between the latter two, and the role that a reformed labor law might play in reviving organized labor, are matters of continuing controversy. In the meantime, two developments on the ground suggest a way forward for organized labor, labor law, and labor law scholars: Activist unions have found success with a new organizing model: neutrality and card-check agreements. Elsewhere, anti-sweatshop activists are developing increasingly sophisticated supplier codes and monitoring schemes to improve labor standards in developing countries. Both strategies, with their basically contractual architecture, exemplify what regulatory scholars are calling “new governance.” These strategies suggest a potential way around the roadblocks that meet labor law reform proposals, and toward more agile and responsive forms of workplace governance.

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