Finding Books & Government Documents

• Library Catalog - For books & documents @ Kresge Library.
• WorldCat For books from thousands of other libraries.

Finding Journal/Magazine Articles*

• ABI/Inform
• Business Source Premier
• Michigan Newspapers
• WilsonBusiness
• InfoTrac OneFile
• InfoTrac General Business File ASAP
• LexisNexis Academic Universe

In any of these databases, if an article is not available online, use the feature to identify if the article is available online in another database or in print in the library.

Researching Labor Unions & the Labor Movement

• Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
  Ref. HD 8066 .H57 2004 (2 vols.)
• Work in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Policy & Society
  Ref. HD 8066 .W637 2003
• The Lexicon of Labor
  Ref. HD 8066 .M87 1998
• Profiles of American Labor Unions
  Ref. HD 6504 .P64 1998
• Labor Conflict in the United States: An Encyclopedia
  Ref. HD 5324 .L32 1990
• Roberts' Dictionary of Industrial Relations
  Ref. HD 4839 .R612 1994
• UnionStats - Membership and Coverage Database (from the Current Population Survey from the BLS) – Provides historical data on union membership by location, industry, and occupation.
• Union Members (Annual pub. from the BLS) – Data on union membership and wages by industry, occupation, age, sex, race, ethnicity, and location.
• Office of Labor-Management Standards Internet Public Disclosure Room (Dept. of Labor) - Contains reports filed by unions, employers and other organizations, including union reports, bylaws, and constitutions, as well as some financial data for unions. Note: not all unions are required to file information.
• Salary and Employee Benefits Survey [for MI - 1996]
  Ref. JS 451 .M57 M52
• Encyclopedia of Associations
  Reference Desk: HS 17 .E53

Need Help?

• Set up a research consultation
• Ask a reference librarian:
  • By phone (248.370.4426)
  • By e-mail
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Contact Information

Library Contact: Shawn V. Lombardo

Deparment Contact: Karen Markel

Contract Language & Bargaining Issues

• Labor Contracts Database (Institute of Industrial Relations Library, UC Berkeley) – Contains the text of hundreds of collective bargaining agreements, searchable by union, location, and industry.
• AFSCME Contracts Online (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) – Provides links to state, county and municipal labor contracts available full text online. AFSCME also maintains a thorough listing of links related to labor issues.
• Labor Project for Working Families – “Database of information and contract language on labor and such work/family issues as child care, elder care, alternative work schedules, family leave, expanding FMLA, etc.”

Labor & Benefits Statistics

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - Use the Get Detailed Statistics link for navigating through data on particular topics.
  • National Compensation Survey - Provides data on earnings, compensation cost trends, and benefits by geographic region and
  • Compensation & Working Conditions Online - Online publication from the BLS that addresses current issues and trends in labor and benefits. Information is divided into 3 main categories: Compensation, Safety & Health, and Collective Bargaining. Use the Archives link to search for information by topic.
  • Occupational Employment Statistics - Employment & wage estimates for more than 800 occupations.
  • Collective Bargaining & Work Stoppages Program - Data on work stoppages, including companies/unions involved.
  • Consumer Price Indexes - for cost of living data
• Kaiser Family Foundation (for health insurance and health data)
  • Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey
• FedStats

Other Web Resources

• Employee Benefit Research Institute
• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans - Fill out the free registration form to search for abstracts of journal articles and other documents on topics related to employment benefits and compensation. (Note: Most articles are not available full-text.) The site also includes a glossary of terms.
• Cornell U. ILR School Subject Guide: Collective Bargaining
• To identify professional associations related to benefits and compensation, check the Encyclopedia of Associations (available at the reference desk).

Obtaining Items Not Owned by Kresge Library

• MeLCat - Search for and request books from other Michigan libraries.
• ILLiad - OU's interlibrary loan service. Request items directly from FirstSearch databases, or use ILLiad's online request forms. Free!!
• Reciprocal borrowing from an area library