The 2010 Don Wood Lecture was delivered by The Honourable Warren K. Winkler, Chief Justice of Ontario. The Chief Justice’s lecture presented a synopsis of changes in the labour relations field. The Chief Justice spoke about the “Golden Era” of labour arbitration (1944-1967), and drawing on his experiences and observations, commented on changes in the field today. These changes include a shift in the culture of labour arbitrations, from one of camaraderie amongst colleagues, to a litigation-based process. He concluded his talk with a call to action for labour arbitrators to rid the “dysfunctional arbitration culture” by raising awareness of proportionality (the amount of time spent on a case has to reflect the importance of the case) and protecting the integrity of labour arbitration by ensuring a fair process, with affordable cost, and appropriate timelines.

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In his 2008 Don Wood Lecture address, Harvard University Professor Dr. Richard Freeman spoke about "meta-market coordination problems", the unravelling of the Washington Consensus, and the role unions have in addressing global problems. "How we resolve these problems will have more of an impact on workers than collective bargaining or normal labour policy."

Dr. Freeman holds the Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard. He is currently serving as Faculty Director of the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School. He is also director of the Labor Studies Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Senior Research Fellow in Labour Markets at the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance, and visiting professor at the London School of Economics.

The Don Wood Lecture is a joint initiative of Queen's University IRC and the Master of Industrial Relations program. The Lectureship was established in 1987 to honour the late Dr. W. Donald Wood, Professor Emeritus, Queen's University and former director of the Industrial Relations Centre and School of Industrial Relations at Queen's. The purpose of the Lectureship is to bring to Queen's University distinguished individuals who have made an important contribution to industrial relations in Canada and in other countries. Such persons are either senior scholars from the academic world or public figures from business, trade unions, or government.

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By George CB Smith, 2007

George C.B. Smith, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Organization at CBC/Radio-Canada, shares lessons from his 33-year career as a management negotiator. He underlines three essentials for success: organizational alignment; managing the interpersonal aspects; and managing the complexities of the process. (Download)

By Basil "Buzz" Hargrove, 2006

Buzz Hargrove, National President of the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada (CAW-TCA Canada), reviews the challenging situation in which the Canadian labour movement finds itself today, tallies strengths and weaknesses, and calls for the union movement to be more innovative in addressing those challenges and weaknesses. (Download)

By Linda Duxbury, 2004

Dr. Linda Duxbury draws on her extensive research to show how organizations are not creating the conditions employees need to balance their working lives with family and other responsibilities. (Download)

By Leo W. Gerard, 2003

In the Don Wood Lecture in Industrial Relations, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard talks about the threats posed by globalization. (Download)

By: Francine Blau, 2001

This lecture is a discussion of the gender pay gap in industrialized countries. It covers topics including key determinants such as wage structure, as well as trends, and public policy implications of wage inequalities between men and women. (Download)

By Paula Voos, 1998

Professor Vos of the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University talks about markets; the revitalization of laissez-faire economics; how policy changes around unemployment insurance and wage standards, coupled with fundamental shifts in macroeconomic trade and regulatory policy have left workers more vulnerable; and how IR can contribute to improvements. (Download)

Interviewed by Mary Lou Coates, 1998

In this interview Professor Vos discusses trends in the world of work; what unions offer workers today; IR in Canada and the United States; the health of collective bargaining systems; and future issues and challenges in industrial relations. (Download)

By Robert B. McKersie, 1995

In his lecture, Robert McKersie, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, talks about labour-management relations over the years, the emergence of the non-union sector, the quality of working life movement, and strategic labour-management partnerships, providing examples and advice on initiating and sustaining these relationships.

Interviewed by Mary Lou Coates, 1995

Professor McKersie answers questions about the most pressing economic needs in North America today, the role of industrial relations (IR) and human resources management (HRM) in meeting them, the implications of new theories about IR and HRM, and issues around “cooperative” labour-management approaches.