Rethinking Comparative Labor Law:

Bridging the Past and the Future

by Benjamin A. Aaron & Katherine V.W. Stone

Labor law is no longer a subject of purely domestic significance. The comparative study of labor law systems has been an important field of law for many decades, but now, as production becomes increasingly global, issues of comparative labor law arise with a new urgency. The papers in this volume explore all facets of comparative work in the labor law field, addressing questions such as, what was the purpose of engaging in the study of comparative labor law in the past, and what is the purpose of such an inquiry today? Are national labor law systems converging in the face of the increasing globalization of production in recent decades? How are different countries responding to current challenges to their domestic labor law regimes, challenges such as the advent of new flexible models of production, an increase in immigration, and domestic participation in transnational trading blocs? Labor law scholars from eight countries, spanning several generations, met at the UCLA School of Law in the fall of 2005 to consider these and other questions. The papers in this volume present the ideas exchanged and invite yet further reflection on the goals, purposes, possibilities and pitfalls of comparative work in the labor law field.