Michael Belzer
Associate Professor of Industrial Relations

Email address: Michael.H.Belzer@wayne.edu

Office Number: 3259 Faculty/Administration Building

Phone Number: 313.577.1328

 

 Dr. Michael Belzer
Michael H. Belzer is Associate Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University. He also is a Research Scientist at the University of Michigan's Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, and is Associate Director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Trucking Industry Program, one of more than twenty Sloan Industry Centers. The Trucking Industry Program focuses on trucking industry operations and industrial relations, and Dr. Belzer personally directs its Trucking Industry Benchmarking Program. Current Benchmarking efforts include an Owner Operator Cost-of-Operations Survey, in partnership with the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, and a Safety Best Practices Program using the Benchmarking model. Additionally, the Trucking Industry Benchmarking Program offers a firm-level benchmarking exercise for the "Less-than-Truckload" (LTL) sector of the trucking industry and additional benchmarking exercises can be developed on request.

Dr Belzer received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1993. His thesis, "Collective Bargaining in the Trucking Industry: The Effects of Institutional and Economic Restructuring," focused on how changing regulation and institutional structure have transformed industrial relations in the trucking industry. His research interests include all facets of trucking industry organization and operations, labor-management relations, employment policy, and safety. He currently is studying the relationship between truck driver pay (both method and level) and safety, as well as issues related to truck driver hours of work. Other continuing research interests include regulation, the labor.

Professional Record

Programs Directed:

Reports:

  • Pay and Safety Report, September 2002, Download File (.pdf)
  • The Jobs Tunnel: The Economic Impact of Adequate Border-Crossing Infrastructure (draft - Nov. 2003), Download File (pdf) .

Selected Scholarly Publications


Scholarly Books Published

Monographs Published

Refereed Journal Articles Published

Book Chapters

  • "The Effects of Trucking Firm Financial Performance on Safety Outcomes." With Marta S. Rocha and Daniel A. Rodriguez. In Transportation Labor Issues and Regulatory Reform. James H. Peoples and Wayne K. Talley eds. Research in Transportation Economic Series. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers, 2004, pp. 35-55.
  • "Trucking: Collective Bargaining Takes a Rocky Road." In Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, edited by Paul F. Clark, John T. Delaney, and Ann C. Frost. Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, 2002, pp. 311-342.
  • "The Motor Carrier Industry: Truckers and Teamsters under Siege." In Contemporary Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, edited by Paula B. Voos. Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1994, pp. 259-302.

Selected Reports

Selected Professional Activities

  • Other Organizations and Public Service

    • Member, Steering Committee for the National Safety Council 2005 International Truck and Bus Safety Symposium. 2004-2005.(http://www.nsc.org/truckandbus/ )
    • Member, Advisory Board of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association Foundation. 1999 - present.(http://www.ooida.com/about_us/found.htm)
    • Member, Research Advisory Committee of the American Transportation Research Institute (American Trucking Associations); 2001 - 2004 (http://atri-online.org/ )
    • Member, Board of Directors of the North American Transportation Employee Relations Association; 2001 - present. (http://www.natera.org/ )