Fields

Sociology of Work, Labor, Globalization and Development

Courses

• Introduction to Sociology
• Social Problems
• Sociology of Work and Employment
• Globalization: Structures and Movements

Current Research Interests

Unions, Labor Relations, Labor Movements, Globalization, Organization of Work

Biography

Professor Rothstein received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005 and joined the faculty at GVSU in 2007. His research examines the impact that processes of globalization have on workers, labor relations, and the organization of work. Based on fieldwork at three GM assembly plants in the U.S. and Mexico, his book When Good Jobs Go Bad: Globalization, De-Unionization and Declining Job Quality in the North American Auto industry (Rutgers University Press, 2016) argues that globalization has weakened unions and compromised wages and working conditions throughout the North American auto industry. Yet auto work remains among the most desirable blue-collar employment available – suggesting that globalization is undermining even some of the best jobs the economy has to offer. Professor Rothstein’s publications also appear in Social Forces, Research in the Sociology of Work, Critical Sociology, Competition & Change, and the New Labor Forum.