The Havens Wright Center for Social Justice

Don Taylor

Position title: Professor, School for Workers

Pronouns: he/him

Email: don.taylor@wisc.edu

Phone: (608) 262-9849

A bald man with a brown mustache and brown and white goatee is smiling. He wears rectangular metallic eyeglasses and a black polo shirt. Behind him, a bookshelf can be seen.

Education

MA in Political Science, University of New Hampshire

BA in History, University of New Hampshire

Professional certifications in Change Leadership, Human Resource Management, and Employee Training and Development

Bio

Before joining the faculty, Don worked as an organizer, representative, negotiator, business agent, communications director, and education director for unions such as the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE), the hotel workers union (HERE), and the Service Employees’ International Union (SEIU). He has also taught labor and employment relations at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Illinois, and Indiana University, and has served as a shop steward and local union president. He has extensive experience in union leadership development, internal organizing, strategic planning, and building organizational capacity, as well as in online education. He is a nationally recognized expert on the constitutional rights of public employees and developed the website garrityrights.org.

Teaching areas

  • Collective bargaining
  • Internal organizing
  • Strategic planning
  • Steward training
  • Organizational leadership and capacity building

Undergrad/grad courses

  • Human Resource Management in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors, University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy (Graduate, Online)
  • Labor Relations in the Public Sector, University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy (Graduate, Online)
  • Contemporary Labor Problems, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations (Undergraduate, Online)
  • Introduction to Labor Studies, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations (Undergraduate, Online)
  • Survey of Unions and Collective Bargaining, Indiana University Department of Labor Studies (Undergraduate, Online)

Research interests

Globalization, capital mobility, union transformation, public sector labor relations

Book project

Runaway: A Factory, A Community, and the End of the American Sneaker

Selected presentations

“A ‘Runaway’ Sneaker Factory: Local Plant Closure, Globalization, and the Transformation of the U.S. Athletic Shoe Industry.”  Presented at the North American Labor History Conference, Detroit, Michigan, October 11, 2024

“The 1978 Converse Strike and the Transformation of the U.S. Sneaker Industry.” Presented at the Newberry Library Labor History Seminar, Chicago, Illinois, February 9, 2024

Selected Publications

Taylor, D., M. Childers, J. Manzo, F. Manzo IV, and R. Bruno. The State of the Unions 2018: A Profile of Unionization in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, and in America. Midwest Economic Policy Institute, 2018.

Manzo, J., M. Childers, D. Taylor, F. Manzo IV, and R. Bruno. The State of the Unions 2017: A Profile of Unionization in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, and in America. Midwest Economic Policy Institute, 2017.

Taylor, D. Wisconsin and the New Urgency of Old Ideas. Vol. 41, no. 4, Labor Studies Journal, 2016, pp. 395-7.
Manzo, J., M. Childers, D. Taylor, F. Manzo, and R. Bruno. The State of the Unions 2016: A Profile of Unionization in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, and in America. Midwest Economic Policy Institute, 2016.
Taylor, D. Can Renewal Emerge from Destruction? Crisis and Opportunity in Wisconsin. Vol. 40, no. 4, Labor Studies Journal, 2015, pp. 396-18.
Taylor, D. Kindergarten Economics. Daily Kos, 2011.
Taylor, D. Does Austerity Cause Public Urination?. Daily Kos, 2011.
Taylor, D. Garrity Rights website. http://www.garrityrights.org, 2011.
Lund, J., and D. Taylor. Why Don’t More Members Attend Union Meetings?. Vol. 35, no. 4, Labor Studies Journal, 2010, pp. 566-72.
Taylor, D. Stewards Training: Use Case Studies to Build Hands-On Skills. Labor Notes Troublemaker’s Blog, 2010.

Taylor, D. Between the Rock and the Whirlpool: Compelled Statements by Public Employees. Vol. 30, no. 3, Labor Law Journal, 2009, pp. 148-65.