About me
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Work and Organizations at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. I study employment relations with a focus on labor unions. My current research centers on understanding causes of union decline and identifying strategies for union revitalization. One line of my work investigates the role of employer resistance in explaining union decline. My job market paper, in particular, examines whether President Reagan’s 1981 firing of over 11,000 striking federal air traffic controllers contributed to falling private-sector union organizing activity by signaling a growing acceptability of union busting. Another line of work explores the opportunities and challenges of building inclusive labor movements to support union revitalization, analyzing union members’ evolving attitudes towards women’s employment and immigration.
I have taught labor relations at the undergraduate level. My courses explore the intellectual foundations of employment relations, the history of the U.S. labor movement, the fundamentals of U.S. labor law, and key aspects of international comparisons. I emphasize experiential learning by engaging students in interactive activities, including interpreting legal cases, debating legislative proposals, conducting simulated collective bargaining, and participating in mock dispute resolution exercises. More broadly, I am interested in teaching and have a background in other employment-related subjects, including human resource management, compensation and benefits, and people analytics. Before entering the Ph.D. program, I earned a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations (MHRIR) from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Renmin University of China.
Beyond my academic work, I am personally engaged in the labor movement. I am a proud member of the Graduate Labor Union – United Electrical Local 1105 (GLU-UE) at the University of Minnesota, which represents over 4,000 graduate workers and fellows. I have worked as a labor organizer and served on GLU-UE’s bargaining committee during its first contract negotiation with the university. I believe in a person-to-person organizing model—one that connects workers through relationships in which their concerns are genuinely heard, understood, and addressed. I also believe in a democratic union process that empowers workers to tackle workplace issues and engage collectively with broader societal challenges.