In this article, the author explores these questions--from what position, with what focus, and through what methods can a history be produced that is sensible of the conflicts and passions of its own time, and that can illuminate those of the past?--estimating that the books under review in several ways invite such a demanding reading. Gary…

During the interwar period, California's labor-intensive agriculture transitioned from reliance on diverse immigrants to preference for Mexicans. Political movements to restrict immigration, the Great Depression, and labor unrest compelled farm employers to search for labor that could be used flexibly and deported easily. To achieve this…

Gov. Scott Walker's sweeping proposal to scale back collective bargaining rights for most public employees in Wisconsin has sparked a rancorous standoff with teachers across the state--and fueled speculation about whether similar plans will gain traction in other parts of the country. But as massive demonstrations played out in Madison--an…

Management experts have observed that employment relationship has become contractual, fragile, and short-lived. Downsizings have resulted in some people having far too much work and stress, while increasing numbers have no work at all. As a result, people are taking jobs they do not really want and staying longer in jobs they do not really like.…

Teachers often embed their labor demands within a broader context to claim high moral ground and build community support. We analyze a recent teachers' strike in Israel, looking at how the strike played out in a country where the challenges of globalization collided with a socialist legacy in the face of an existential threat. The analysis reveals…

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about contingent faculty's relations with the profession of English studies in general. (Contains 3 notes.)

Of all the recent budget cuts made by the Eagle County, Colorado, school district--the loss of 89 staff jobs through attrition and layoffs, a 1.5 percent across-the-board pay cut, and the introduction of three furlough days--none sparked as much anger or faced the same scrutiny as the decision to cut three foreign-language teaching positions and…

At the 1986 Wyoming Conference on English, a group of graduate students and part-time and tenure-line faculty formulated a statement known as the Wyoming Resolution, a rallying cry to improve composition teachers' pay, benefits, and working conditions. Adopted by the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in 1987, the Wyoming…

Beginning in 1934, representatives of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Association of American Colleges (AAC) met and drafted the definitive statement on academic freedom and tenure. Like the U.S. Constitution, the 1940 "Statement on Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure" was a commendable, if deficient, product…

Research on social movements and public policy has expanded tremendously in recent years, yet little of this work considers the role of movement opponents in the political process or how the movement-countermovement dynamic is influential in contests over policy. This historical study begins to fill this void by analyzing the contestation between…

Discusses the central issues in arbitration arising from employee grievances. Stresses the differences between arbitration and courtroom trials, including selection of the judge by the parties involved and narrow scope of review. Concentrates on tactics for management. Available from American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on…

This article describes when teachers in Detroit, Michigan and Gary, Indiana went on strike in September 2006, which have resulted in the closure or relocation of 35 schools to other campuses since the end of the 2004-05 school year. The 2006-07 school year has brought with it a fresh wave of labor unrest, as teachers in districts large and small…

Critiques Samuel Bacharach and Edward Lawler's theory of argument in bargaining. Concludes that although their theory does not sufficiently account for argument as process or as point of view, their ideas represent a viable starting point for understanding and investigating the nature of argument in dispute resolution. (MM)

The author is persuaded that the main purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was to raise the confidence of moderate ruling groups in Western Europe. Today NATO is an expression of support between troubled allies with a number of common interests. (RM)

Arbitrators agreed that the dress issue is not constitutional and that the employer's desire to maintain product cleanliness and employee safety takes precedence over an employee's desire concerning his or her hair. However, an employer's desire to maintain a certain image does not take precedence. (IRT)