From my colleague, Rafael Gely:

As you begin to prepare your courses for the next academic year, the National Academy of Arbitrators’ Research and Education Foundation (REF), an organization that provides funding that promotes research, publications, and education that contribute to the field of labor and employment arbitration, wanted to share with you the following information.

REF Financed Films Produced by the College of  Labor and Employment Lawyers Available Free on the Internet

The REF has given grants to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers to produce two educational documentaries.  These films are available on the College website.   They are most significant for the study of labor law, labor relations, arbitration, and mediation. The most recent project is the documentary titled, The Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968 – Its Place in Labor History.  Here is a short description about the film:

Most people remember this strike as the occasion of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, when he traveled to Memphis to lead the striking workers.  This is both a Civil Rights and a labor law film.  It is an hour-long documentary with contemporaneous news footage and interviews with a key union negotiator, a City official, and former sanitation worker who lived through these events.  The strike was a recognitional strike with the employees seeking to have the City of Memphis, their employer, recognize the Union as their bargaining representative.  Because there was no state agency to conduct an election and the City would not recognize the Union voluntarily, the employees “took to the streets.”  Had the employees been able to go to a state agency for assistance, the course of history might have been different and tragedy, including the assassination of Dr. King, averted.  Although this was 55 years ago, about half the states continue to have no state agency for the public sector that performs the functions of the NLRB for the private sector.  The film is available with a study guide on the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers website at Video History Project/ Full-Length Films. 

Another documentary that might be of interest to those in the ADR field is The Art & Science of Labor Arbitration.  Here is a short description:

This documentary focuses on distinguished arbitrators whose careers and contributions are landmarks in labor law policy and the resolution of labor law disputes.  We hear their insights, anecdotes, and advice highlighting the challenges and successes of arbitration at it is – and was – practiced by giants of the profession.  Anyone viewing it will come away with a great appreciation for the benefits of arbitration and the joy of being an arbitrator.  The film is available with a study guide on the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers website at Video History Project/ Full-Length Films. 

REF Grant Application Process

Additionally, the REF would like to take this opportunity to remind you about the REF grant process. The REF reviews and approves grant application requests up to $50,000, for any of the following purposes:

• The study and understanding of grievance procedures, the arbitration process, and other forms of labor and employment dispute resolution, and the impact of law on these processes.
• The education and training of persons engaged in labor-management and employment disputes.
• The preparation and publication of books, symposium materials, articles, and audio-visual materials related to the resolution of labor-management disputes.
• The preparation of material designed to keep arbitrators and students of labor-management and employment relations abreast of current relevant research.
• Projects that contribute to increasing diversity related to race, sex, ethnicity, and other under-represented groups within the arbitration community.

Applications may be submitted at any time during the year to ref@naarb.org.

Information about the National Academy of Arbitrators and its Research and Education Foundation by visiting the NAA website and clicking on the REF tab, where you will find information about the grant application process and about past grants.

Rafael Gely, J.D., Ph.D.
James E. Campbell Missouri Endowed Professor of Law
University of Missouri School of Law