John Budd
Contact
Education:
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BA 1987Economics & Mathematics, Colgate University
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MA 1989Economics, Princeton University
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PhD 1991Economics, Princeton University
Expertise:
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Labor Relations/Collective Bargaining
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Industrial Relations
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Labor Policy
Biography
John W. Budd (he/him) is a Professor of Work and Organizations in the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, where he holds the Industrial Relations Land Grant Chair. Professor Budd is President of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA), a LERA Fellow, and Secretary-Treasurer of the North Star LERA local chapter. He is a graduate of Colgate University and earned a Ph.D. degree in economics from Princeton University. Professor Budd is the author of Employment with a Human Face: Balancing Efficiency, Equity, and Voice (Cornell University Press), Labor Relations: Striking a Balance (McGraw Hill), Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy into Focus (with Stephen Befort, Stanford University Press), The Thought of Work (Cornell University Press), and numerous journal articles. Professor Budd is a recipient of the Richard A. Lester Prize for the Outstanding Book in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations, the Melvin Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Prize, and the James G. Scoville Best International / Comparative Industrial Relations Paper Award. In 2023 Professor Budd served on the [Minnesota] Governor's Committee on the Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers. Within the University of Minnesota, he has been Chair of the Department of Work and Organizations, Director of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies, Director of Graduate Studies for the University of Minnesota's graduate programs in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, and a key developer of the undergraduate course "Race, Power, and Justice in Business." You can take his MOOC "Preparing to Manage Human Resources."
Selected Works & Activities
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BOOKS
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Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, 2025 Release, McGraw Hill, 2025 [Chinese translation: China Workers Press, 2020].
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The Thought of Work, Cornell University Press, 2011 [Spanish translation: Tirant lo Blanch, 2014; Korean translation: Ewha Press, 2016; Turkish translation: Ayrinti Publishers, 2016; Chinese translation: Tsinghua University Press, 2018].
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Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy Into Focus, with S. Befort, Stanford University Press, 2009.
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The Ethics of Human Resources and Industrial Relations, edited with J. Scoville, Labor and Employment Relations Association, 2005.
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Employment with a Human Face: Balancing Efficiency, Equity, and Voice, Cornell University Press, 2004 [Chinese translation: Peking University Press, 2007; Arabic translation: Al-Ahlia, 2007; Turkish translation: Kure Yayinlari, 2018].
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SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
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“Competing Frames of Reference on the Employment Relationship and their Importance for the Study of Work,” with J. Kammeyer-Mueller and D. Pohler, in J. Lavelle et al. (eds.), New Frontiers and Trajectories in Labor-Management Relations, 2026.
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"The Future of Employee Voice," with S. Kalfa, in A. Wilkinson et al. (eds.), The Handbook of Research on Employee Voice, 2nd ed., 2020.
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"The Employment Relationship: Key Elements, Alternative Frames of Reference, and Implications for HRM," with D. Bhave, in A. Wilkinson et al. (eds.), Sage Handbook of Human Resource Management, 2nd ed., 2019.
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"The Eye Sees What the Mind Knows: The Conceptual Foundations of Invisible Work," in M. Crain et al. (eds.), Invisible Labor: Hidden Work in the Contemporary World, 2016.
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Current Research
- Employee Voice
- Labor Unions and Political Systems
- Frames of Reference
- Conflict Resolution
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Honors and Awards
- Distinguished Teaching Award, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2022, 2025
- James G. Scoville Best International/Comparative Industrial Relations Paper Award, Labor and Employment Relations Association, 2023
- Outstanding Service Award, Carlson School of Management, 2023
- Outstanding Research Award, Carlson School of Management, 2022
- Melvin Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Prize, 2020
- Fellow, Labor and Employment Relations Association, 2019
- Texty Textbook Excellence Award, Textbook and Academic Authors Association, 2005
- Richard A. Lester Prize for the Outstanding Book in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations, Princeton University, 2004
- Industrial Relations Research Association, Excellence in Education Award, 2001
- Industrial Relations Research Association Outstanding Young Scholar Award, 1998
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Editorial Appointments
- Editorial Board, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2007-present.
- Editorial Board, Human Resource Management Journal, 2017-present.
- Editorial Board, ILR Review, 2003-present.
- Editorial Board, Labour and Industry, 2016-present.
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Scholarly Service
- President, Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA), 2025-2026.
- Secretary-Treasurer and Inaugural Board Member, North Star LERA, 2024-present.
- Governor’s Committee on the Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers, 2023.
- Dean’s Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, 2020-2022.
- Executive Board, Labor and Employment Relations Association, 2014-2019.
- International Scientific Committee, ADAPT International (Association for International and Comparative Studies in the field of Labour Law and Industrial Relations), 2020-present.
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