Charter schools see as many as one in four teachers leave annually, and recent evidence attributes much of this turnover to provisions affected by collective bargaining processes and state laws such as salary, benefits, job security, and working hours. There have been many recent efforts to improve teacher voice in charter schools (Kahlenberg…

A handful of districts, some with the approval of their local teachers' unions, are experimenting with alternatives to the fundamental components that govern teachers' base-pay raises. Ranging from a long-standing plan in Eagle County, Colorado, to a contract ratified earlier this year by teachers in the Pittsburgh district, the systems tie raises…

Over the past decade, educators and policymakers have used a variety of approaches to designing and implementing teacher compensation programs. These approaches include federal incentive funds, state-level programs, and district initiatives. This article reviews 6 such programs in order to identify themes and draw conclusions relevant to…

Teachers unions are among the most powerful, yet least studied, actors in public education today. Although public attention focuses on the influence of national unions, the policies that most affect teachers and schooling are bargained by local unions and school boards. Interviews with 30 recently elected local union presidents reveal that these…

In the era of No Child Left Behind, principals are increasingly held accountable for student performance. But are teacher labor agreements giving them enough flexibility to manage effectively? This study answers this question and others. It examines how much flexibility school leaders enjoy on key dimensions of management in America's fifty…

The National Education Association affiliate in the state of Florida--the United Faculty of Florida--gave the Board of Regents of Florida's State University System a report that documented inequities in hiring, rank and salary, promotion, and pay for women and minorities. The conditions that necessitated the study are detailed. (MLW)

The court decisions, as well as state constitutions and statutes in many states, clearly point out that, whether the faculty is organized or not, the state legislature has the final voice in the appropriation of monies to higher education. (Author)

An examination of the collective bargaining guidelines developed in Florida's 1975 enabling legislation and of the personnel policies and procedures contained in institutional documents from eight Florida community colleges was conducted, and other pertinent literature was reviewed, in order to identify potential areas for assessing impact of the…

Collective bargaining agreements between the boards of trustees and faculty associations of Broward Community College (BCC) and Indian River Community College (IRCC) in Florida are presented. The BCC contract period covers 1987 to 1989, while the IRCC contract period covers August 1989 to July 1990. With some variation between the agreements in…

Eight collective bargaining agreements between the boards of trustees of selected community colleges in Florida and their respective faculty associations are presented, representing contracts in effect in 1987. Contracts for the following colleges are provided: Brevard Community College, Broward Community College, Chipola Junior College, Edison…