Bruce Nissen (born January 20, 1948) is an American professor emeritus of labor studies and director of research at the Center for Labor Research and Studies (CLRS) at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

(FIU). He also formerly directed that university's Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP).

Childhood and education

Nissen was born in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

, 1948 to Raymond and Irene Nissen. He obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in philosophy and psychology from

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

in 1970, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in labor studies from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1975 entitled "Moral Means and Ends in Social Change: Dewey and Marxism". He married Karen Lieberman in 1978. They have two sons.

Career

Nissen was appointed an assistant professor of labor studies at

Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Indiana ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash Riv ...

in 1981. In 1985, Nissen became an associate professor of labor studies at

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest or IUN) is a public university in Gary, Indiana, United States. It is one of seven regional campuses of Indiana University and was established in 1963. The university enrolls approximately 3,500 degree ...

. Nissen joined the Center for Labor Research and Studies at

in 1997. His wife, Karen Lieberman, has retired from a professorship in the Hospitality College at the

North Miami North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. Originally the "Town of A ...

campus of

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its cam ...

Research

Nissen's research focuses on a wide variety of topics regarding workers and the U.S. labor movement. Early in his career he focused on the impact and dissemination of the "

new labor history New labor history is a branch of labor history which focuses on the experiences of workers, women, and minorities in the study of history. It is heavily influenced by social history. Before the 1960s, most labor historians around the world focuse ...

" in labor studies as well as its impact on labor education in higher education and labor unions themselves. His early work also centered on theories of the labor movement, enterprise zones, plant closings, labor-community coalitions confronting plant closings, the nature of a labor-management "accord" in the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

years in the U.S. and similar topics. His later research looks at living wage campaigns, labor-community coalitions, the future direction of the U.S. labor movement, unions and workplace reorganization, unions operating in a globalized environment, unions facing "

union busting Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or weaken the power of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace. Union busting tactics can refer to both legal and illegal activities, and can range anywhe ...

," and the like. In November 2001, he criticized economist

Arthur Laffer Arthur Betz Laffer (; born August 14, 1940) is an American Economics, economist and author who first gained prominence during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981–19 ...

(recently appointed an advisor to Florida Governor-elect

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

), saying Laffer's economic theory "basically doesn't hold water".

Memberships and awards

In 2011 Nissen won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Association for Labor Education (UALE). This is the highest award given in the field of labor education. In 2004 he won the Florida International University “Excellence in Research” award. This is the highest yearly research award given by the university. Nissen is a member of the United Association for Labor Education, and has served on the executive board of the organization. He is past secretary-treasurer of the Labor and Labor Movements section of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

(ASA). He has also served on numerous boards and commissions in his local community (such as the Community Coalition for a Living Wage and the South Florida chapter of

Jobs with Justice Jobs With Justice (JWJ) is a labor rights organization in the United States, focused on the vision that all workers should be able to collectively bargain. It was founded in 1987 and is made up of individuals and affiliated organizations. As of ...

) and has served as an adviser and researcher for city, county and state government entities as well as labor unions and community organizations. Nissen was also an editor of ''

Labor Studies Journal ''Labor Studies Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research in the field of labor studies. Its editors-in-chief are Robert Bruno (University of Illinois) and Victor Devinatz (Illinois State University). It was establi ...

'' for eight years, from 2000 through 2008.

Selected publications

Authored books

*''Fighting for Jobs: Case Studies of Labor-Community Coalitions Confronting Plant Closings.'' Albany, N.Y.:

State University of New York Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, 1995. *Lieberman, Karen and Nissen, Bruce. ''Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry,'' second edition. Lansing, Mich.: Educational Institute, 2008.

Edited volumes

*Larson, Simeon and Nissen, Bruce, eds. ''Theories of the Labor Movement.'' Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987. *''U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict.'' New York:

Garland Publishing Garland Science was a publishing group that specialized in developing textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet t ...

, 1990. *Craypo, Charles and Nissen, Bruce, eds. ''Grand Designs: The Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1993. *''Unions and Workplace Reorganization.'' Detroit:

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 186 ...

, 1997. *''Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformation.'' Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999. *''Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles.'' Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002. Reviews of ''Unions in a Globalized Environment'': *Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval, ''Contemporary Sociology'', *Ian Greer, ''Industrial and Labor Relations Review'', *Rachel Sherman, ''Social Forces'', *Michael Wald, "The future of unions", ''Monthly Labor Review'',

References

External links

Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International

Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, Florida International University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissen, Bruce Labor historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians of the United States 1948 births People from Ames, Iowa Educators from Miami Grinnell College alumni Rutgers University alumni Columbia University alumni Florida International University faculty Indiana University faculty Living people Historians from Iowa Historians from Florida American male non-fiction writers