Robert Bruno

Professor & Director, Labor Education Program (Chicago)

University of Illinois Chicago

Robert Bruno is Director of the Labor Education Program and a Professor of Labor and Employment, as well as the director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles on a diverse range of labor relations subjects, Professor Bruno has also co-authored numerous research reports on labor unions, workplace practices and labor and employment policy topics.

He is also the author of five books; Steelworker Alley: How Class Works In Youngstown (1999), Reforming the Chicago Teamsters: The Story of Local 705 (2003), Justified by Work: The Meaning of Faith in Chicago’s Working-Class Churches (2008) and A Fight for the Soul of Public Education: The Story of the Chicago Teachers Strike (co-author 2016), which was awarded the United Association for Labor Education Best Book award in 2017 and What Work Is (2024).

Professor Bruno has given expert testimony to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as the Illinois House and Senate Committees on Labor and Commerce.  He has also been a frequent commentator on labor relations for both regional and national media and has served as a commentator for numerous newspapers.

Professor Bruno has taught many different labor relations courses, specializing in collective bargaining, labor history and American politics, as well as given numerous public presentations on labor relations.

He is the co-editor of Labor Studies Journal and is an executive board member of the United Association for Labor Education and Chicago Chapter of the Labor Employment Relations Association.