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…

As school closures are increasingly used as a remedy to budget woes and a solution to failing schools in many cities, debates are intensifying about their effect on student performance and well-being, on district finances, and on communities and the processes districts use to choose which schools will be shuttered. Student and parent groups in…

The impact of the 8-day walkout of the New Jersey Teachers against the state college system remains obscure, however certain facts have emerged: (1) Traditional governance structures are rendered impotent by a major faculty strike. (2) Students can be expected to play an active if unpredictable role. (PG)

This paper describes the context and conditions leading up to the November 1998 Jersey City Education Association (JCEA) strike, including the JCEA's history, state takeover of the district, and constraints in New Jersey's collective bargaining law that hampered the union's ability to address teacher dissatisfaction with curricular issues that…

Analyzes New Jersey case involving the jailing of striking teachers who refused to comply with a judge's return-to-work order. (PKP)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of two dispute resolution procedures--fact-finding and compulsory final-offer, issue-by-issue interest arbitration--on teachers' wages, fringe benefits, and language provisions. New Jersey uses fact-finding dispute resolution, in which a recommendation for settlement is submitted to…

The intent of this volume is to inform boards of education about the collective negotiations process so that the board can proceed to improve board-staff relations as well as achieve its goals at the bargaining table. Although much of the information in this book applies to all public employee collective bargaining, the author chooses to focus on…

It was not the longest strike in the history of U.S. teacher labor unrest, but it may be among the most infamous. Teachers in Middletown, N.J. walked out on a Friday in late November 2001, and were back in the classroom just over a week later. In between, 228 members of the Middletown Township Education Association were jailed for their action,…

This comprehensive guide to the procedures and techniques of collective bargaining contains information on all phases of negotiations: the process, the players, preparation, face-to-face bargaining, impasse resolution procedures, and contract administration. It is predicated on the view that school board members and administrators should master…

This report, one of an annual series, analyzes a number of crucial topics that could affect educational negotiations in New Jersey during the year. The articles cover the scope of negotiations; agency shop negotiations; when to start bargaining; contract clauses dealing with union recognition, teacher transfers, and payment for unused sick leave…

Researchers analyzed 127 public school teachers' strikes in New Jersey during the 36 school years from 1945 through 1981, presenting their data in over 60 tables. Data were collected from newspapers, magazines, and journals; through personal interviews; and via a questionnaire survey of affiliates of the New Jersey Education Association and the…