Ka-Neng Au Business Librarian au@rutgers.edu April 6, 2009

Learning Tools: Class Guides: Dana Class Guides:
Labor Seminar (220:407)
Prof. Leo Troy

Concepts Articles Books

Web Resources Citing your Sources

Concepts

The topic "Is the Democratic Party the de facto Labor Party of the U.S.?" will require that you consider many possible aspects of the relationships between organized labor and the Democrats. Use the following terms or keywords to help sort out your thoughts:

influence control support benefit

relationship union dues funding membership

campaign contributions political parties lobbying labor unions

You should think of other related concepts to provide more focus to your research. For further research, consider also the existence of pro-labor or worker-friendly legislation or regulations.

Articles

To locate articles in general business and economics journals and magazines, use Business Source Premier. Start with , enter keywords and then select appropriate fields.

To locate articles in local and national newspapers, use Access World News.

For references to articles in scholarly Economics journals, use EconLit from the American Economic Association. Note that you will only see abstracts of the articles; for the full-text, click on , which will lead to other locations of the journals.

For references to articles in related subjects, e.g. government, politics, public affairs, use PAIS International. Note that you will only see abstracts of the articles; for the full-text, click on , which will lead to other locations of the journals.

Books

Use IRIS, our online catalog, to locate books which may help you. Note that there are several ways to search, including "TITLE begins with" and "SUBJECT begins with." Books that are not at Dana may be requested from other libraries using the button.

Here are some with partial full-text online (also available in print format at Rutgers Libraries):

• The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics by Peter L. Francia (Columbia University Press, 2006).
• The Unions and the Democrats: An Enduring Alliance by Taylor Dark (Cornell University Press, 2001).
• The Twilight of the Old Unionism by Leo Troy (M.E.Sharpe, 2004) - especially chapter 6.
• Why is There No Labor Party in the United States? by Robin Archer (Princeton University Press, 2008).

Web Resources

Labor: Long-Term Contribution Trends summarizes monetary contributions to the major political parties during the major election cycles. Use the CQ Money Line databases to track contributions by individual organizations.

An Assessment of the Use of Union Dues for Political Purposes: Is the Law Being Followed or Violated? is the transcript of a hearing before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, 107th Congress, 2nd session, held in Washington, DC, June 20, 2002.

Disclosure of Political Activities of Tax Exempt Organizations is Prof. Leo Troy's testimony at a hearing before the Committee on Ways & Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 105th Congress, 2nd session, held in Washington, DC, June 20, 2000.

Many labor unions are listed by state in the Union Directory maintained by Unions.org.

Here is sample of resources from selected think tanks and foundations:

• Capital Research Center Publications (select Labor Watch)
• Employment Policies Institute publications
• National Institute for Labor Relations Research publications
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
• Research: Labor (Heritage Foundation)
• Use of Dues for Politics (Center for Union Facts)

Citing your Sources

Follow the guidelines for footnotes (not endnotes) with the APA Formatting and Style Guide for print materials and for APA Style: Electronic References.