Work, Labor, and Governance in Global Supply Chains brings together original, empirically grounded research to explore how labor is controlled, contested, and governed across global production networks. Challenging optimistic assumptions about voluntary regulation, the volume demonstrates that poor working conditions are structurally produced through multilevel labor-control regimes shaped by global buyer power, political intervention, and opaque commodity chains. Several chapters expose the limits of corporate "partnership" models and question whether purchasing leverage reliably improves labor standards, while novel analyses of compliance data reveal paradoxes in monitoring systems-most notably that stronger worker voice can increase reported violations by enhancing detection rather than by worsening conditions. The book highlights pathways for meaningful reform. Case studies of enforceable brand agreements show how binding, union-inclusive mechanisms can deliver tangible gains, supported by evidence linking collective bargaining to improved outcomes. The volume also addresses unexpected forms of worker agency. Going beyond traditional debates, the contributors examine emerging dynamics such as labor's role in semiconductor competitiveness, the spatial politics of logistics, and climate-driven workplace violence. Together, the chapters argue that effective labor governance must account for states, institutions, social movements, and environmental pressures, offering a multidimensional framework for understanding and transforming work in the global economy.
Chunyun Li is an assistant professor at the Department of Management of London School of Economics and Political Science. With a Ph.D. in industrial relations from Rutgers University in 2016, her research focuses on labor protests in China and corporate social responsibilities in global supply chains. Her work has been published in top journals in the field of industrial relations including Industrial and Labor Relations Review and British Journal of Industrial Relations. She was the recipient of the Labor and Employment Relations Association's Best Dissertation Award in 2016, the James Scoville prize for the Best International Comparative Paper in 2022 and the John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award in 2025. Mark Anner is dean and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR). He holds a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University and an M.A. in Latin American studies from Stanford University. Anner has published extensively on workers' rights in global supply chains in Latin America and Asia. He is the recipient of the Susan C. Eaton Outstanding Scholar-Practitioner Award, the John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award, the Luis Aparicio Emerging Scholar Prize, and the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to beginning his academic career, he lived in Central America for a decade, where he worked with labor rights organizations. Xiangmin (Helen) Liu is an associate professor in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. Her research examines the intersection of technology, employment, and the workforce, especially how technological innovations and employment practices jointly shape outcomes for workers and organizations. She also studies the development of a STEM-capable workforce, with a focus on how STEM educational experiences shape career pathways in the context of shifting technological and economic demands. Dr. Liu received her M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University.
Introduction: Grounding Global Labor Governance Chunyun Li (London School of Economics and Political Science), Mark Anner (Rutgers University), and Xiangmin (Helen) Liu (Rutgers University) Chapter 1: Buyer Leverage, Supplier Compliance and Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains Yichen Liu (University of Toronto) and Sarosh Kuruvilla (Cornell University) Chapter 2: Collaboration or Continued Compliance? The Reality of Partnerships between Global Brands and their Suppliers in the Apparel Industry and the Impact on Labor Sanchita Saxena (University of California, Berkeley) Chapter 3: More voice, more violations? Worker representation and compliance detection in global supply chains Mahreen Khan (University of Oxford) Chapter 4: Chains of labor control? The case of palm oil global supply chains in Honduras Matthew Fischer-Daly (Rutgers University) Chapter 5: Japan in Global Semiconductor Supply Chains: Notes on Institutions, Technology, and Labor Andrew Wilson, Tobias Schulze-Cleven, and Xiangmin Liu (all Rutgers University) Chapter 6: How Institutional Entrepreneurs Create Enforceable Brand Agreements in Global Supply Chains: A Comparative Analysis of Two Agreements in India and Lesotho Pauline Jerrentrup (London School of Economics and Political Science) Chapter 7: Addressing the Supply Chain Squeeze on Workers through Collective Bargaining in Honduras Mark Anner (Rutgers University) Chapter 8: Strikes and power in unlikely places: Migrant garment workers in Jordan Claire Sleigh (United Auto Workers) Chapter 9: Varieties of Logistics and Chokepoint Possibilities: Evidence from the Italian Warehousing Sector Tommaso Pio Danese (Independent researcher) and Katia Pilati (University of Trento) Chapter 10: Climate-Driven Workplace Violence on Global Value Chains Shikha Bhattacharjee (Equidem and The New School) Chapter 11: Promoting Labor Rights and Worker Voice in Global Supply Chains: Opportunities in Product Standards and Due Diligence Conformance Jeffrey Wheeler (Georgetown University)
