Teacher federations are often criticized as "roadblocks" to educational change. It is arguable, however, that their advocacy work has been paramount in securing safer return to school conditions across Canadian Educational jurisdictions. Utilizing Carter et al. (2010) framework of union responses to changing policy environments, this…

The president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, is putting the sensitive issue of due process on the education reform table, with a pledge to work with districts to streamline the often-cumbersome procedures for dismissing teachers who fail to improve their performance after receiving help and support. She has also…

Discusses the usefulness and importance of international labor standards for workers; workers' participation in the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) standard-setting activities and in the implementation of international labor standards; and the ILO's procedures of supervision. (CT)

Includes "Introduction"; "International Labour Standards and Human Rights" (Valticos); "The Origins of Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organize" (Dunning); "Human Rights Law and Freedom of Association" (Swepston); "Freedom of Association" (von Potobsky); "The ILO…

Describes how U.S. teacher unions have begun to depart from industrial principles, with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers endorsing ideas such as peer review, training standards, job-embedded professional development, and alternatives to standard salary schedules. Asserts that substantial policy…

In January, 1980, the governor of New Jersey signed Ch. 477, the agency shop bill, which allows the majority union representative to negotiate a representation fee for nonmembers. In this article, the New Jersey Education Association explains this law and urges its local affiliates to negotiate such fees. (SJL)

The American labor movement and labor groups from other developed nations have recognized the interdependence of the world's economies. Discussed are the AFL-CIO's support for labor in the Soviet Union, policies of developing nations to reduce inflation and the resulting worldwide recession, U.S. auto industry problems, and maintaining labor…

Reviews the latest contract and salary changes in collective agreements in Canadian libraries, using the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario as a sample population. The issues likely to be raised at the negotiating table in 1988 are predicted. (5 references) (Author/CLB)

According to its president, Marcel Pepin, the World Confederation of Labour (W.C.L.) offers man a way to follow his ideals of fraternity and solidarity within an intellectual framework open to discussion and world-wide point of view. The W. C. L. has tried in recent years to become in particular a mouthpiece for workers in underdeveloped…

Meatpacking communities in America's Midwest have become home to thousands of impoverished immigrant workers from Mexico, Central America, and Laos, recruited to work in poor and dangerous working conditions for low wages and no benefits. Suggests that public policy needs to address protecting and improving the situation of immigrant workers. (LP)

Describes the work of the Progressive Era women specifically addressing the campaign for women's suffrage, the work of neighborhood unions, and the struggle for protective legislation. Expounds that even though these women fought for equal rights, they failed to break racial boundaries and denied future generations of women multiple roles in…

Presents a concise and interesting overview of the rise and extension of labor activity during the New Deal. Labor took advantage of Roosevelt's pro-union policies to consolidate their power and forever transform the lives of working men and women. Discusses improvements in working conditions, wages, and benefits. (MJP)