The article examines 78 arbitration decisions that weigh the employer’s right to discipline for absenteeism against the employee’s family care-giving responsibilities. It places such absences in demographic context; examines when lack of child care is treated as a legitimate excuse for absence, describes communication problems regarding work-family conflicts; assesses the assumption that employer responsiveness to …

Arbitrator Knowlton posits that fairness requires the evolution of the concept of just cause to take into account the contemporary circumstances of workers, who increasingly lack a familial safety net.

A historical perspective of labor law during the 50-years of the Academy’s existence, including the Taft-Hartley Act; the publication of arbitrators’ awards; The Proceedings of the Academy; the development of workers’ protection against unjust dismissal; and the implications of “management rights.”

Discussion of considerations in deciding whether to settle a grievance. Suggests 5 major criteria: (1) Are we right? (2) Is the issue sufficiently important? (3) Can the case be won? (4) What will be the effect if winning or losing? And (5) What settlement is possible?

In response to an opposing paper, the author suggests that the parties say more by the arbitrators they designate than by their doctrinal protestations. The author asserts that arbitration must be stable and that continuity, knowledge and experience should be brought to the hearing: that the parties have an obligation to help arbitrators and not …