The Politics of Public Labor
Full Day Short Course
9:00am – 5:00pm
Public sector employment has grown significantly over the past several decades, with government workers now comprising a major share of the labor force in the United States and around the world. As public employees have taken center stage in labor organizing and trade union movements, the political dimensions of this shift demand deeper scholarly attention. While economists and sociologists have developed robust research agendas around public labor, political science research remains comparatively fragmented. This full-day short course seeks to bridge that gap by fostering scholarly exchange and offering in-depth feedback on participants’ working papers.
The course brings together a diverse group of scholars across career stages, subfields, and methodological approaches. Presentations will explore a range of topics, including the effects of teachers’ strikes on labor support in Mexico, the racial dynamics of the administrative state, public sector unionism in U.S. and European education systems, and the political development of police unions. Confirmed presenters include Christopher Chambers-Ju (UT Arlington), Desmond King (Oxford), Isabel Perera (Cornell), Nicholas Toloudis (The College of New Jersey), Chas Walker (Boston University), Steven White (Syracuse), and Alan Yan (UC Berkeley). Discussants include leading scholars such as John Ahlquist (UC San Diego), Alexander Hertel-Fernandez (Columbia), Mimi Lyon (Albany), and Kathleen Thelen (MIT).
In addition to paper workshops and panel discussions, the course will provide an opportunity to build a research network focused on the political implications of public labor. Participants are welcome to join as presenters or discussants, and the course is open to scholars at all career stages interested in advancing this growing area of political science.