Dr. Bruce Nissen is the Director of Research at the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University in Miami. He has a B.A. degree from Grinnell College and a PhD from Columbia University. He has published seven scholarly books: Theories of the Labor Movement (co-editor, 1987); Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities (co-editor and contributor, 1993); Fighting for Jobs: Case Studies of Labor-Community Coalitions Confronting Plant Closings (author, 1995); Unions and Workplace Reorganization (editor and contributor, 1998), Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations (editor and contributor, 1999), and Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles (editor and contributor, 2002). Dr. Nissen is also the author of 20 scholarly articles in books and in journals such as Labor Studies Journal, Journal of Labor Research, Labor Research Review, Working USA, Critical Sociology, Policy Studies Journal, Regional Science Perspectives, and others.
Dr. Nissen has been a labor educator and labor studies professor since 1981. He has developed, coordinated, and taught in both Labor Studies college credit programs and non-credit labor education programs for union members on numerous topics. His areas of teaching expertise encompass both practical trade union courses and more theoretical academic classes. He serves on the national executive committee of the United Association for Labor Education (UALE).
Dr. Nissen's academic interests have led him into a number of professional, civic, and community activities. He is the co-editor of Labor Studies Journal, where he also edits the "Interactive Issues Forum" section. He has been widely quoted in regional and national media (including Time, U.S. News and World Report, Christian Science Monitor, National Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, and numerous others) as an expert on labor topics. He has served on boards and commissions of both community organizations and government agencies. Dr. Nissen has provided expert testimony before Congressional committees and various state and local study commissions, and has consulted on public policy for public officials. He authors an annual Labor Report on the State of Florida, which is published by the Center every year at Labor Day. He authored the study The Impact of a Living Wage Ordinance on Miami-Dade County, also published by the Center. Dr. Nissen served as a labor market consultant for Miami-Dade County in its empowerment zone application to the federal government. He serves as a consultant to community groups such as the Miami-based Community Coalition for a Living Wage, and the South Florida Jobs with Justice (JwJ) chapter.
(forthcoming) “Labor Since the 1960s”, essay in the Encyclopedia of the Midwest
-with Marcos Feldman. Workforce Housing and Miami’s Affordable Housing Needs: Issues and Policy Options. February, 2006. 22 pp. Research report on the workforce of the county and housing costs in different neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County. The report critiques a “workforce housing” ordinance being considered by the Miami-Dade County Commission. Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP). On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/Workforce_Housing_Policy_Paper.pdf .
-with Jen Wolfe Borum. A Difference that Matters: the Impact of the Miami-Dade Living Wage Ordinance on Employees Covered by the Ordinance. February 15, 2006. 40 pp. Research report on changes in the housing, transportation, education, debt reduction, and other conditions of workers who gained income as a result of the living wage ordinance. Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP). On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/A_Difference_that_Matters.pdf .
“Trouble in Paradise: Organizing Condominium Workers in the Sunshine State,”, New Labor Forum, Vol.14, No. 3 (2005), pp. 34-43.
“The Impact of Globalization on Workforce Development and Composition in Florida: Debates, Impacts, and Potential Policy Responses,” pp. 70-90 in Florida’s Global Frontiers: Impacts of Trade Liberalization (edited by M. Mark Amen). Tampa, FL: University of South Florida Globalization Research Center, 2005
The State of Working Florida 2005. A research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in the state of Florida and its 20 metropolitan areas.
Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, September 2005, 42 pp. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/STATE_OF_WORKING_FLORIDA_2005.pdf .
-with Karen Lieberman. Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. Lansing, MI: Educational Institute, 2005, 152 pp.
“Upsurge and Fusion? Thoughts on Dan Clawson’s The Next Upsurge”, Critical Sociology, Vol. 31, No. 3 (2005), pp. 423-431.
Healthcare Needs of AFSCME Local 1184: Survey Results. May 2005. 30 pp. Research report on survey of AFSCME Local 1184 members’ attitudes about healthcare options. Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy.
-with Jen Wolfe Borum. Working Poverty: Low Wage Workers in Florida. May 2, 2005. 28 pp. Research Report on Florida’s low wage workers, poverty, housing affordability, healthcare and pension coverage, and the minimum wage. Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP). On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/WorkingPovertyLowWageWorkersInFlorida.pdf .
“The Impact of Globalization on Workforce Development and Composition in Florida: Debates, Impacts, and Potential Policy Reponses.” September 2004. 25 pp. Paper delivered at Conference on Globalization, University of South Florida, Sept. 23-34, 2004. On the web at:
http://www.cas.usf.edu/GlobalResearch/PDFs/Nissen_workforce.pdf .
FIU Priorities in the ’97-’98 to ’02-’03 Period: A Budget and Personnel Analysis. September 2004. 11 pp. Research Report on FIU budgetary changes. Funded by the United Faculty of Florida, FIU Chapter. Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP).
The State of Working Florida 2004. A research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in the state of Florida.. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, September 2004, 33 pp. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/STATE%20OF%20WORKING%20FLORIDA.pdf .
The Impact of a Living Wage Ordinance on the City of Coral Gables. A research report. August 2004. 16 pp. On the web at: http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/Coral%20Gables%20Living%20Wage.pdf .
Employment Practices and Working conditions in the Building Services Industry in Miami-Dade County, Florida. A research report. June 2004. 73 pp. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. On the web at: http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/CondoWorkerReport.pdf .
-with Theodore Carrasco. The Impact of a Living Wage Ordinance on the City of Miami. A research report. June 2004. 27 pp. Funded by the Dade Community Foundation. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/Miami%20Living%20Wage%20-%207.22.04.pdf .
“Labor-Community Coalition Strengths and Weaknesses: Case Study Evidence”, Pp. 46-63 in Partnering for Change: Unions and Community Groups Build Coalitions for Economic Justice (edited by David Reynolds). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2004.
Construction Safety Practices and Immigrant Workers. A pilot study research report. April 2004. 107 pp. Funded by the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/Immigrant%20Construction%20Workers%20Safety.pdf.
“The Effectiveness and Limits of Labor-Community Coalitions: Evidence from South Florida”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Spring 2004), pp. 67-89.
“The Miami Living Wage Ordinance: Primary and Secondary Effects”, Pp. 157-170 in Living Wage Movements: Global Perspectives (edited by Deborah Figart). New York: Routledge Press, 2004.
Is Florida’s Economy Underperforming?, a policy brief on the state of Florida’s job performance in the recent past. Tallahassee, FL: Civic Concern, Inc., March 2004, 10 pp. Available on the web at:
http://www.civicconcern.org/content/Nissen_March_Policy_Brief.pdf .
“The Importance of a Living Wage to Miami’s Business Community”, pp. 90-92 in Building Community Prosperity in Miami-Dade County (edited by David Chandler). Miami: University of Miami Business School Ethics Program, 2004.
-with Mary Beth Maxwell, Some of Them are Brave: the Unfulfilled Promise of American Labor Law, a research report on south Florida nursing home workers’ attempts to form unions. Washington, D.C.: American Rights at Work, 2003, 16 pp. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/ARAWBravefinal1.pdf .
“Free trade must be fair to labor”, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 28, 2003; p. 19A. (Op-ed piece)
Labor Report on the State of Florida - 2003, a research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in the state of Florida.. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, September 2003, 41 pp.
-with Barbara Byrd, Report on the State of Labor Education in the United States, a research report for the Center for Labor Research and Education, Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California. Berkeley; CA: University of California CLRE; June 30, 2003; 165 pp.
“What Are Scholars Telling the U.S. Labor Movement to Do?”, Labor History, Vol. 44, No. 2 (May 2003), pp. 157-165.
“The Recent Past and Near Future of Private Sector Unionism in the U.S.: An Appraisal”, Journal of Labor Research, Vol. XXIV, No. 2 (Spring 2003), pp. 323-338.
“Alternative Strategic Directions for the U.S. Labor Movement: Recent Scholarship”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 133-155.
“Discussion” (of four refereed papers on Labor Studies/Labor Unions, Collective Bargaining, Dispute Resolution and Labor and Employment Law), Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association (meeting of January 4-6, 2002, in Atlanta). Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, pp. 230-232.
“Discussion” (of four papers on Union and Management Cooperation and Approaches to Multi-Employer Plans), Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association (meeting of January 4-6, 2002, in Atlanta). Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, pp. 124-126.
Labor Report on the State of Florida - 2002, a research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in the state of Florida.. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, September 2002, 47 pp.
“The Labor Movement in a New Globalized Environment: An Introduction”, pp. 3-13 in Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles (edited by Bruce Nissen). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002.
–with Guillermo Grenier, “Unions and Immigrants in South Florida: a Comparison”, pp. 130-160 in Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles (edited by Bruce Nissen). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002.
“Concluding Thoughts: Internal Transformation?”, pp. 264-273 in Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles (edited by Bruce Nissen). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002.
Editor, Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002, 293 pp.
“The Role of Labor Education in Transforming a Union Toward Organizing Immigrants: A Case Study”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring 2002), pp. 109-127.
-with Guillermo Grenier, “Union Responses to Mass Immigration: the Case of Miami, USA”, pp. 263-288 in Place, Space and the New Labour Internationalisms (edited by Peter Waterman and Jane Wills). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2001.
“The ‘Social Movement’ Dynamics of Living Wage Campaigns”, Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association (meeting of January 5-7, 2001, in New Orleans). Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, pp. 232-245.
Labor Report on the State of Florida - 2001, a research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in Florida.. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, September 2001, 45 pp.
–with Brian W. Underhill, Living Wage: Impact on the City of Jacksonville, a 22 page research report detailing projected costs and benefits if the city of Jacksonville, FL were to pass a living wage ordinance. Jacksonville, FL, Summer 2001.
–with Guillermo Grenier, “Union Responses to Mass Immigration: The Case of Miami, USA”, Antipode, Vol. 33, No. 3 (July 2001), pp. 567-592.
–with Guillermo Grenier, “Local Union Relations with Immigrants: The Case of South Florida”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring 2001), pp. 76-97.
“Building a ‘Minority Union: The CWA Experience at NCR”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 25, No. 4, (Winter 2001), pp. 34-55.
Editor, special issue on the Labor Movement in a Globalized Environment, with an introduction. Critical Sociology, Vol. 26, No. 1 / 2 (2000), 181 pp.
–with Guillermo Grenier, “Comparative Union Responses to Mass Immigration: Evidence from an Immigrant City”, Critical Sociology, Vol. 26, No. 1 / 2 (2000), pp. 82-105.
“Living Wage Campaigns from a ‘Social Movement’ Perspective: the Miami Experience”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Fall 2000), pp. 29-50.
Labor Report on the State of Florida - 2000, a research report on the trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in the state of Florida.. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, August 2000, 37 pp.
“The Remarkable Rehabilitation of Company Unionism in Recent Industrial Relations Literature”, Critical Sociology, Vol. 25, No. 1 (1999), pp. 59-79.
--with Peter Cattan, Labor Report on the State of Florida - 1999, a 28 page research report on trends in employment, unemployment, wages, and other indices of worker welfare in Florida.. Miami: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University. August 1999.
“Alliances Across the Border: U.S. Labor in the Era of Globalization”, Working USA, Vol. 3, No. 1 (May-June 1999), pp. 43-55.
--with Seth Rosen, “The CWA Model of Membership Based Organizing”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 1999) pp. 73-88.
"Cross-Border Alliances in the Era of Globalization", pp. 239-253 in The Reformation of the American Labor Movement: Voices, Visions and Strategies for Survival (edited by Michael S. Cummings and Ray M. Tillman). Boulder, CO: Lynn Rienner Publishers, 1999.
--with Seth Rosen, “Community Based Organizing: Transforming Union Organizing Programs from the Bottom Up”, pp. 59-73 in Which Direction for Organized Labor? -- Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformation (edited by Bruce Nissen). Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999.
Editor, Which Direction for Organized Labor? -- Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999, 260 pp.
“Fighting the Union in a ‘Union Friendly’ Company: the AT&T/NCR Case”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Fall 1998), pp. 3-33.
(with the assistance of Peter Cattan) The Impact of a “Living Wage” Ordinance on Miami-Dade County, a research report on the economic impact of passage of a living wage ordinance in the greater Miami area. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, October 22, 1998, 62 pp.
Labor Report on the State of Florida, a monograph on the trends concerning working people, their incomes and working lives, in the state of Florida. Miami, FL: Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, August 1998. On the web at:
http://www.risep-fiu.org/reports/MiamiDadeLivingWage.pdf .
"Utilizing the Membership to Organize the Unorganized", pp. 135-149 in Organizing to Win (edited by Kate Bronfenbrenner, Sheldon Friedman, Richard Hurd, Rudolph Oswald, and Ronald Seeber). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University ILR Press, 1998.
"Unions and Workplace Reorganization", pp. 9-33 in Unions and Workplace Reorganization (edited by Bruce Nissen). Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997.
Editor, Unions and Workplace Reorganization. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997, 240 pp.
"Combating Plant Closings in the Era of Transnational Corporations", pp. 131-147 in Unions and Public Policy: The New Economy, Law and Democratic Politics (edited by Lawrence Flood). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995.
Fighting for Jobs: Case Studies of Labor-Community Coalitions Confronting Plant Closings. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995, 236 pp.
--with Peter Seybold, "Labor and Monopoly Capital in the Labor Education Context", Monthly Review, Vol. 46, No. 6 (November 1994), pp. 36-44.
"Shutdown of a Steel Foundry", pp. 138-164 in Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities (edited by Charles Craypo and Bruce Nissen). Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University), 1993.
--with Charles Craypo, “Introduction”, pp. 3-17 in Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities (edited by Charles Craypo and Bruce Nissen). Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University), 1993.
"Successful Labor-Community Coalition Building", pp. 209-223 in Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities (edited by Charles Craypo and Bruce Nissen). Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University), 1993.
--with Charles Craypo, “The Impact of Corporate Strategies”, pp. 224-250 in Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities (edited by Charles Craypo and Bruce Nissen). Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University), 1993.
--with Charles Craypo, eds., Grand Designs: the Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University), 1993 285 pp.
--with Lynn Feekin, "For the Public Good: Calumet Project Organizes for Jobs and Economic Development", Labor Research Review #19 (Fall 1992), pp. 21-37.
--with Lynn Feekin, "Early Warning Against Plant Closings: Issues and Prospects", Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Winter 1991), pp. 20-33.
"Union Struggles Against Plant Closings: Case Study Evidence and Policy Recommendations", Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Winter, 1989-90), pp. 382-395. (Special issue on organized labor)
"A Post-World War II Social Accord?", pp. 173-207 in U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict (ed. by Bruce Nissen). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990.
Editor, U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990, 284 pp.
"Enterprise Zones as an Economic Development Tool: The Indiana Experience", Regional Science Perspectives, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Winter 1989), pp. 3-20.
The Indiana Tax System: Who Benefits?, a 74 page monograph on Indiana's tax policies, taxation system and economic development in the state. Published by the Indiana University Institute for the Study of Labor in Society, September 1988.
--with Thomas DuBois, "Changing Industrial Relations in Steel: Implications for Labor Education", Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1987), pp. 38-50.
--with Simeon Larson, eds., with introductions. Theories of the Labor Movement. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987, 395 pp.
--with Charles Ellinger, "A Case Study of a Failed QWL Program: Implications for Labor Education", Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Winter 1987), pp. 195-219.
--with Charles Ellinger, "UCLEA Steward Training Programs: A Report and Evaluation", Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 1984), pp. 19-45.
"The Role of 'Enterprise Zones' in Reindustrialization", in Donald Kennedy, ed., Labor and Reindustrialization. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Department of Labor Studies, 1984, pp. 121-135.
"Labor's Stake in Urban Development Policy: The Case of Enterprise Zones", Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Spring 1983), pp. 5-17.
"U.S. Workers and the U.S. Labor Movement", Monthly Review, May 1981, pp. 17-30. Winner of the $500 first prize in the Michael Magdoff Memorial Essay Contest.)
