Labor Law I

This course explores the basic law on unions and collective bargaining in the United States. Labor law is the regulation of collective as opposed to individual rights. It is about what parties can extract (often forcefully) from the market, not about minimum standards. And in large part it all stems from a single federal statute, the National Labor Relations Act ( NLRA ). In this course, we will trace NLRA doctrine through the massive historical and political changes that have pushed its development and permeate its current condition. We will study the labor law rights that attach where there is no union in sight, where a group of workers seek to certify an agent to represent them in negotiations, and where a fully formed collective bargaining relationship already exists. We will also consider ways that the law allows unions and management to take benefits and concessions from each other (e.g. strikes, lock-outs, and hard bargaining) as well as tactics that are proscribed.

This course will be taught using lectures interspersed with role plays and negotiating simulations that will require students to use Artificial Intelligence tools. While there are no prerequisites for this course, the Professor will draw on concepts that students learn in business associations, employment law, and technology law classes to supplement the in-depth coverage of labor law. Students will be tested via an in-class exam. Professor Alvin Velazquez is joining the Maurer School of Law faculty after more than 15 years as an in-house attorney at the Service Employees International Union working on cutting edge organizing campaigns, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and emerging technologies. He also worked extensively on Puerto Rico s bankruptcy. Professor Velazquez has taught at the Georgetown University Law Center and worked at several large international law firms as well.