The Labor and Global Change (LAGC) program addresses the effects of economic “globalization” on workers, unions, and societies. It explores how public policy, business programs, and worker organizations can increase the human benefits and reduce the social costs of national and global economic restructuring. It has been engaged in cross-campus conferences and support for research and educational initiatives related to international labor rights. It has provided technical support and assistance for initiatives such as the U-M President’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights (CoLSHR), forums addressing the socio-economic impacts of international trade, and study visits by students to countries in the “global South.” Beyond the Univesity, LAGC has initiated programs with the support of the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) and the U.S. Department of State.

LAGC’s Center for China Employment and Labor Relations (CELR) was created to bring a multidisciplinary approach to the employment-related implications of China’s rapidly changing business and industrial environment. The Center brings together the rich resources of China research and scholarship at the University of Michigan with the Institute’s fifty years of experience in labor and employment. CELR is currently involved in a number of projects related to labor and employment issues in China. It is expected that CELR will build upon ongoing projects and focus research and training on emerging issues. Although specific activities of the Center grow out of the individual interests and expertise of associated researchers, several focuses are being developed, including:

• Collaborative research and training projects related to the labor-management process;
• Research and consultation on employment-related aspects of the developing business relationships and partnerships between U.S. and other foreign companies in China;
• Survey research on China’s employment and labor relations;
• Information dissemination activities, such as regular seminars on China’s employment and labor relations and a website to archive both English and Chinese research data; and
• Educational initiatives to address China’s employment and labor relations