March - April 2007 (19)
Editor: Terence K. Huwe
Contributors: Dan Bellm, Elizabeth del Rocio Camacho, Stefanie Kalmin, Janice Kimball, Jenifer MacGillvary, Vibhuti Mehra, Dick Walker


IRLE News & Events
IIR becomes IRLE
California Studies Center Hosts: The Crisis in the California Commons, April 27-29
IRLE March Colloquia Update
Irene Bloemaad's Interdisciplinary Immigration Workshop Holds March Conference
Industrial Relations Journal: Top-Cited Articles in 2005-2006


IRLE Program News
The Labor Center
California Public Employee Relations
California Studies Center
Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
Institute of Industrial Relations Library
The Labor Project for Working Families


Campus Events
Boalt School of Law
Center for Chinese Studies
Center for Latin American Studies
Economics Department
Geography Department
Haas School of Business
Sociology Department



IRLE NEWS & EVENTS


UC Berkeley's Institute of Industrial Relations Has a New Name

The Institute of Industrial Relations, one of the oldest and most active research institutes at UC Berkeley, has changed its name. The new name is The Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE).

The Berkeley campus has long been a center for innovative research about work, employment trends, and the labor force. IRLE's decision to update its name reflects its leadership in labor and employment research, and also strengthens the University's new statewide initiative, the Miguel Contreras Labor Program, of which IRLE is a campus-level program.

"The decision to update the Institute of Industrial Relations' name has been under discussion for some time," said Director Michael Reich. "We felt that with the Regents' vote in favor of the Contreras program, it was the right moment to change our name. California academics are leaders in many areas, such as analyzing living wage and minimum wage policies, the impact of "big box retailers", workforce demographics, new trends among labor unions, and "smart" urban and regional planning," he added. "IRLE is very well-poised to advance the study not only of organized labor and its role in society, but also newly emerging fields."

University of California labor programs began 60 years ago when former UC President Clark Kerr founded and became the first director of the Institute of Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley. The same year, a similar institute was created at UCLA, and 20 years later, the Center for Labor Research and Education was established - one at each institute - to carry out service and outreach activities with union and community partners.

UCLA's center is also changing its name to the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, in keeping with the long tradition of collaboration between the Berkeley and UCLA institutes.

IRLE has attracted more than 85 faculty affiliates from 19 schools and departments. This strong faculty presence reflects the crucial importance of understanding how changes in work and employment and in the workforce affect all areas of modern life.

"IRLE has a very strong presence on the Berkeley campus and we are also part of a statewide network of academics spanning all UC campuses," Reich said. "The Contreras Program enables faculty throughout the state to seek research funds under the UC Labor and Education Research Fund (LERF) program, which has had a substantial impact over the past three years," he added.

Academic and Community Programs: New Growth

IRLE hosts many programs, both research-oriented and in community outreach. The Center for Labor Research and Education (CLRE) has played an important role in exploring crucial issues facing employers and workers, and training diverse new generations of labor leaders. In recent years, the CLRE has contributed ground-breaking studies in many areas, including the public costs of low-wage work, job crises facing African-Americans, the restructuring of the retail industry, trends in job-based healthcare, and labor issues in China.

IRLE's award-winning Library has undergone an extensive renovation, with the addition of a new Information Gateway, and a beautiful reading room. California Public Employee Relations, the most prominent journal for California public employee research, continues to offer incisive analyses of legal trends. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment is a national leader in studying the emerging sector of child care employment, training and accreditation.

Most importantly, IRLE has committed itself to strong faculty support. "IRLE provides direct support to Berkeley faculty, funding graduate student researchers, sponsoring high-profile conferences and offering a colloquium series," Reich said. "The Contreras Program has greatly extended our reach, and I have made substantial support for new faculty a top priority." This has been particularly meaningful for IRLE, as the Berkeley campus has undergone an extended era of faculty recruiting. "Over the past ten years, many of the best researchers in the world have been attracted to Berkeley," Reich said. He envisions a more prominent role for IRLE in supporting new faculty, and engaging in collaborative work with other campus programs.

More information about IRLE may be found at its Web site, http://www.irle.berkeley.edu. In the coming weeks, IRLE will transform its Web and publications to reflect its new name. "In the mean time," said Director Reich, "We're ramping up for more research and community services."


California Studies Center Hosts "The Crisis in the California Commons" Conference

Dick Walker's California Studies Center is holding a major conference April 27-29, at Berkeley City College. Full information may be found under IRLE Program News, below.


IRLE Colloquium Series: March Update

The following colloquia were held during March 2007.

Monday March 5, 12 pm- 1pm
Robert Prasch
Professor of Economics, Middlebury College
"The Postwar Academic Debate over the Minimum Wage: Professor Lester and the Neoclassicals."

Wednesday, March 14, 12 pm � 1pm
Hiro Tanaka
Visiting Scholar, IRLE
Professor of Shiga Bunka College, Japan
"Legal Reform of Home Care Workers in Japan."

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 4:00-5:30 pm
A special seminar jointly sponsored by the Institute of Industrial Relations, The Center for Japanese Studies, and The Haas School of Business
Professor Christina Ahmadjian, Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University
"Isomorphism and diversity in corporate governance reform: The case of the Japanese electronics industry"


The Interdisciplinary Immigration Workshop: March Conference Update

The following event was held during March, and was co-sponsored by IRLE.

"Spotlight on Immigration: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Newcomers and Their Children"

Conference Highlights:

Welcoming remarks by Michael Reich, Director of the Institute of Industrial Relations & Irene Bloemraad, Assistant Professor of Sociology & faculty director of the Interdisciplinary Immigration Workshop

Panel I: Economic Determinants and Consequences of Immigration
Discussant: Steve Raphael, Professor of Public Policy

Fangfang Yao (Social Welfare): "Measuring China's Rural-to-Urban Migrants' Employment through the Four Building Blocks Approach"

Christel Kesler (Sociology): "Varieties of Inequality: Allocation, Distribution, and the Wage Disadvantages of Immigrant Workers"

Juan Carlos Su�rez & Z�nide Avellaneda (Economics): "Juanita's Money Order: Income Effects on Human Capital Investment in Mexico"

Keynote Speech:

"Native-Immigrant Boundaries and Ethnic Inequalities in North America and Western Europe" Richard Alba, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, University at Albany, SUNY

Panel II: Immigrant Identity and Politics

Discussant: Rachel Moran, Robert D. and Leslie-Kay Raven Professor of Law & Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change

Keith Hiatt (JSP): "Immigrant Danger? Immigration and Increased Crime in Europe"

Ming Chen (JSP): "A Nation of Immigrants" or a "New Civil Rights Movement?"

Naomi Hsu (Social Welfare): "Chinese, Taiwanese, and Everything In Between: Towards a Better Understanding of Ethnic Self-Identification among Immigrants and Children of Immigrants from Taiwan"


Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society:
Top cited articles in 2005 and 2006

Brenner MD
The economic impact of the Boston living wage ordinance
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (1): 59-83 JAN 2005

Reich M, Hall P, Jacobs K
Living wage policies at the San Francisco Airport: Impacts on workers and businesses
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (1): 106-138 JAN 2005

Adams S, Neumark D
When do living wages bite?
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (1): 164-192 JAN 2005

Luce S
The role of community involvement in implementing living wage ordinances
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (1): 32-58 JAN 2005

Fairris D
The impact of living wages on employers: A control group analysis of the Los Angeles ordinance
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (1): 84-105 JAN 2005

Waddington J
The performance of european works councils in engineering: Perspectives of the employee representatives
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 45 (4): 681-708 OCT 2006

Jones DC, Kalmi P, Makinen M
The determinants of stock option compensation: Evidence from Finland
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 45 (3): 437-468 JUL 2006

Jacoby SM, Nason EM, Saguchi K
The role of the senior HR executive in Japan and the United States: Employment relations, corporate governance, and values
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (2): 207-241 APR 2005

Gustman AL, Steinmeier TL
Imperfect knowledge of Social Security and pensions
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 44 (2): 373-397 APR 2005