In March 2017, the Supreme Court decided "Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association" and upheld the constitutionality of agency fees for nonunion teachers. We examine how "Friedrichs" reflects a host of issues grouped around a patchwork of ideological commitments regarding teachers unions and public-sector unions more…

Public education today faces a troubling set of challenges, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, with school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state? This study--described here and, in more detail, in a related report--of seven California school districts…

Almost daily, media headlines draw attention to students struggling academically and emotionally from interrupted learning, high student absenteeism, declining enrollment, teacher and leader burnout, staffing shortages, polarized communities, and school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state of…

In recent years, issues pertaining to graduate student union organizing have been at the center of several political battles and court cases. This attention is, at least in part, due to the growth of graduate student unions at a time when organized labor's influence is receding in other, more traditionally unionized sectors of the labor force. As…

For most of the past decade, this author has studied union-management efforts to improve public education, and has witnessed extraordinary examples of teachers, union leaders, and administrators working together to improve teaching and learning. In this article, seven case studies on collaborative partnerships between teachers' unions and…

This article examines the legal and political significance of teacher unionization in rural and suburban school districts between 1960 and 1975. While most historians focus on the growth of unions in urban areas, strikes in outlying districts played a determinative role in the development of public sector labor law, particularly in the arbitration…

This qualitative study examines the effects of multiple years of layoff notices on first- or second-year, K-12 teachers employed in a Northern California, suburban school district in 2008-2009. During years of budget crisis in California, teachers new to the profession experienced ongoing employment uncertainty. This study endeavored to understand…

Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) is a local labor-management initiative designed to improve teacher quality. In PAR, expert "consulting teachers" mentor, support, and evaluate novice and underperforming veteran teachers. Evaluations under PAR can lead to dismissals. The authors examine the costs and benefits of PAR, both financial and…

In a global knowledge economy, filling in the bubbles on a standardized test isn't going to prepare children to succeed in life. This is the time to shed the old conflicts and come together. In this article, the author suggests a new path forward--toward a 21st-century education system, a serious and comprehensive reform plan to transform U.S.…

As in campaigns to organize graduate student employees, the way in which postdocs are classified by their institutions is important. A postdoc is no longer a student and should not expect to be treated like one. Frequently, however, the postdoc experience is little different from that of a graduate student, with perhaps slightly higher pay.…

The exploratory essay studies the activities of the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA) from 1931 to 1940. (NQ)

Analyzes J. Pisapia's "The Open Bargaining Model" and indicates its utility in reviewing recent developments in California where "bargaining models" have been the subject of intense experimentation with public sector employees. (Author/MLF)

Describes how teachers' evaluation of unions is constructed by historical, organizational, and social features of teachers' work and varies markedly across schools and districts. Presents the contrasting views of teachers in two comprehensive California high schools and considers the consequences of these evaluations for unions' recent strategy…

The history of the California Federation of Teachers, spanning 70 years, is documented in this book that contains two parts. The first part of the book discusses the teachers' union in the context of each of the seven decades of its existence: "1920s: The Conditions of Teachers"; "1930s: A Debating Society Struggles to…

In May 1985, the Representative Assembly of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) adopted a resolution calling for a comprehensive review of labor relations among teachers, school boards, and school management. The Far West Laboratory was engaged to design a survey of ACSA members. A questionnaire was designed and circulated…