Rethinking Comparative Labor Law

Labor law is no longer a subject of purely domestic significance. The comparative study of labor law systems has been an important field of law for many decades, but now, as production becomes increasingly global, issues of comparative labor law arise with a new urgency. The papers in this volume explore all facets of comparative work in the labor law field, addressing questions such as, what was the purpose of engaging in the study of comparative labor law in the past, and what is the purpose of such an inquiry today? Are national labor law systems converging in the face of the increasing globalization of production in recent decades? How are different countries responding to current challenges to their domestic labor law regimes, challenges such as the advent of new flexible models of production, an increase in immigration, and domestic participation in transnational trading blocs? Labor law scholars from eight countries, spanning several generations, met at the UCLA School of Law in the fall of 2005 to consider these and other questions. The papers in this volume present the ideas exchanged and invite yet further reflection on the goals, purposes, possibilities and pitfalls of comparative work in the labor law field.

Benjamin A. Aaron was Professor at UCLA School of Law since 1960 and served as Director of UCLA's Institute of Industrial Relations from 1960 to 1975. He has also served as President of the International Society for Labor Law and Social Security, President of the National Academy of Arbitrators, and U.S. member of the Committee of Experts at the International Labor Organization. Over his sixty year career, Professor Aaron was called upon by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Bush (Sr.) as an advisor and to serve on several national boards and commissions dealing with labor relations matters. In his scholarship, he pioneered the study of comparative labor law in the United States.Katherine V.W. Stone is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. Previously she was the Anne Estabrook Professor of Dispute Resolution at Cornell Law School and Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is a widely published author in the labor and employment law field and the founder of the Globalization and Labor Standards Project, a web-based library on comparative and international labor topics. Her latest book, From Widgets to Digits: Employment Regulation for the Changing Workplace, was awarded the 2005 Michael Harrington Award by the American Political Science Association.