Bruce Nissen

Bruce Nissen (born January 20, 1948) is an American professor emeritus of labor studies and director of research at the Center for Labor Research and Studies (CLRS) at Florida International University (FIU). He also formerly directed that university's Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP).

Childhood and education Nissen was born in Ames, Iowa, 1948 to Raymond and Irene Nissen.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology from Grinnell College in 1970, a master's degree in labor studies from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1975 entitled "Moral Means and Ends in Social Change: Dewey and Marxism".

He married Karen Lieberman in 1978. They have two sons.

Career Nissen was appointed an assistant professor of labor studies at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis in 1981. In 1985, Nissen became an associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University Northwest.

Nissen joined the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University in 1997. His wife, Karen Lieberman, has retired from a professorship in the Hospitality College at the North Miami campus of Johnson & Wales University.

Research Nissen's research focuses on a wide variety of topics regarding workers and the U.S. labor movement.

Memberships and awards In 2011 Nissen won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Association for Labor Education (UALE). This is the highest award given in the field of labor education. In 2004 he won the Florida International University “Excellence in Research” award. This is the highest yearly research award given by the university.

Nissen is a member of the United Association for Labor Education, and has served on the executive board of the organization. He is past secretary-treasurer of the Labor and Labor Movements section of the American Sociological Association (ASA). He has also served on numerous boards and commissions in his local community (such as the Community Coalition for a Living Wage and the South Florida chapter of Jobs with Justice) and has served as an adviser and researcher for city, county and state government entities as well as labor unions and community organizations.

Nissen was also an editor of Labor Studies Journal for eight years, from 2000 through 2008.

Selected publications Authored books Fighting for Jobs: Case Studies of Labor-Community Coalitions Confronting Plant Closings. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1995. Lieberman, Karen and Nissen, Bruce. Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, second edition. Lansing, Mich.: Educational Institute, 2008.

Edited volumes Larson, Simeon and Nissen, Bruce, eds. Theories of the Labor Movement. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987. U.S. Labor Relations 1945-1989: Accommodation and Conflict. New York: Garland Publishing, 1990. Craypo, Charles and Nissen, Bruce, eds. Grand Designs: The Impact of Corporate Strategies on Workers, Unions and Communities. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1993. Unions and Workplace Reorganization. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997. Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformation. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999. Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002.