Why the Bankruptcy Reform Act Left Labor Legacy Costs Alone

This paper proceeds in four parts. Part I describes the world of labor legacy costs and how they end up intersecting with bankruptcy. Part II discusses what approaches Congress or the courts have already used to address the labor/bankruptcy intersection. Part III explores what Congress might have considered in the bankruptcy reform bill if it had been motivated to take a serious look at labor legacy costs in bankruptcy. Part IV explains possible theories as to why Congress chose not to reform the labor/bankruptcy intersection and why that decision was frustrating but prudent