A Primer on American Labor Law is an accessible guide for non-specialists and labor lawyers - labor and management representatives, students and general practice lawyers, and trade unionists, government officials and academics from other countries. It covers topics such as the National Labor Relations Act, unfair labor practices, the collective bargaining relationship, dispute resolution, the public sector and public-interest labor law. This updated fifth edition contains extensive new materials covering developments that include the repeal or change in public employee labor law and the development of case law relating to wrongful dismissals and pension reform in the public sector; bankruptcy in both the private and public sector; ADA litigation and 2008 amendments of that statute; new cases on all subjects, but particularly Bush and Obama NLRB decisions, sexual harassment, sexual orientation, and retaliation; and the globalization of labor disputes in labor-management relations in the United States, with particular reference to professional sports disputes and the extraterritoriality of American labor law generally.

"This indispensable book on how law conditions the employment relationship continues to evolve with the rapidly changing legal environment. Along with updated discussions of the legal framework for collective bargaining in the private and public sectors, the 5th edition explains new case law on dismissals, pension reform, disabilities and other front-burner topics. Both students and practitioners can benefit from this clear and well-written guide to a complex subject."
--Robert Flanagan, Konosuke Matsushita Professor of International Labor Economics and Policy Analysis, Stanford School of Business

"The Fifth Edition of Professor Gould's A Primer on American Labor Law is a primer only in the sense that he has distilled an enormous body of law, much of it exceedingly complex, into an eminently readable volume. But it also is a real tour de force of the topics he covers.
Having spent nearly forty years representing management, my perspective on labor- management relations and how agencies and courts apply the law is often quite different from Bill Gould's. But virtually each chapter of the Primer made me think, and think again, about the current state of the law and what the future might hold for those of us who practice in the field whether for management, unions or employees. In short, the Primer is both a terrific resource and a terrific read."
--Willis Goldsmith, Jones Day

"This new edition of Bill Gould’s labor law primer is a welcome antidote to the general lack of understanding and appreciation of the role a vibrant labor relations system plays in a democratic society. Bill’s combination of experience in labor policy and practice, his rich historical perspective, and his deep passion for the subject come through loud and clear on these pages. This is just what professionals and students need to get them to join the effort to reform, update, and restore the system to meet our country’s needs today and for the next generation."
--Thomas A. Kochan, George M. Bunker Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management and Co-Director, MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research