Back in the mid-2000s, in public and in the news media, Joseph P. Burke, then superintendent of the Springfield public schools, and Timothy T. Collins, president of the local teachers' union, often seemed to be at odds with each other. Out of the public eye, however, the two men had begun meeting regularly. When Burke left the district, the work…

This book contains nine papers presented during a year-long series of seminars and a conference that analyzed the relationship between economic restructuring and industrial relations involving the joint academics, union leaders, government officials, business executives, and graduate fellows. These analyses include case studies from Western…