Describes a multimedia training program developed for Union Pacific to help improve management-worker relations and to improve service reliability by improving morale and motivating employees for training. Courses are described; multimedia interactivity is explained, including decision making and problem solving; and future plans are reviewed.…

Discusses the rise of the concept of improved skills recognition in Australian industry. Highlights include the role of industrial relations; the Australian vocational education and training system; recognition, industrial relations, and workplace change; career and training paths; credentials; and future prospects. (10 references) (LRW)

Critical analysis of the ideological character of vocational training initiatives implemented in South Africa, 1976-89, and comparison to "new vocationalism" in Great Britain suggest that South African training programs aim to instill capitalist values and stabilize labor relations while doing little to improve Black participation in the…

A management perspective of major issues in higher education labor law in the 1990s addresses: sexual harassment; the Civil Rights Act of 1991; diversity on campus, elimination of mandatory retirement for faculty; development of contingent work force; and unionization of residents, interns, and graduate assistants. Predicts alternatives to…

Discusses the development of teachers' unions as adversaries of school boards in the 1960s. Today there are signs that unions are moving from an industrial model of labor relations to a more professional union model, one in which union leaders and school leaders can become allies in the effort to improve schools. (SLD)

Examines the legal issues that may have impacts on charter schools. Considers the results of a study of the impact of charter school laws on urban schools (E. Rofes, 1998). Questions whether charter schools are public institutions and examines the key constitutional issues they face. Also reflects on labor issues and dealing with teachers' unions.…

The author discusses what he considers to be the 10 leading cases on education labor relations decided in state and federal courts during the 1990s. Concludes with a prediction that efforts to implement merit-pay schemes tied to student performance will lead to employment conflict. (PKP)

We examine the idea that an individual's "employability" subsumes a host of person-centered constructs needed to deal effectively with the career-related changes occurring in today's economy. We argue that employability represents a form of work specific (pro)active adaptability that consists of three dimensions--career identity, personal…

It is argued that the court test requiring that anti-union bias be the dominant motive in employment decisions is mandated by the legislative history of the National Labor Relations Act. This argument is applied to the Doyle case, which involved a public school teacher and burden of proof of discriminatory discharge. (LBH)

The academic common law may soon vanish, not as a result of court action but due to the American Association of University Professors's declining role in defending the common law of academic employment. The profession is challenged to maintain its independence from external control by reconsidering its own common law. (Author/MLW)

A team of faculty and advanced graduate students from Boston College developed a new educational partnership with labor unions to help combat problems of industrial dislocation and upheaval. The group worked with five different union locals experiencing serious problems associated with foreign competition and new technology. (CH)

Offers advice to school board members regarding the collective bargaining process. Suggests actions the board can take to develop bargaining guidelines and a labor relations program. Presents a sample conversation between a school board member and a union representative. (IW)

Argues that collective bargaining in the public sector poses insuperable obstacles to educational reform because of the combined effects of the time required for bargaining and mediation and the vested interests of teachers' unions in maintaining the status quo. Reform proposals have thus far failed to take account of the dynamics of collective…

Following examples of strike management in Tacoma and West Valley, Washington, advice is offered to school boards for minimizing damage during teachers' strikes. Topics discussed are substitute teachers, teacher contact, public relations, telephone strategies, consultants, picket lines, and maintaining patience and communication with school and…

The author describes what American organizations are doing with respect to employees with alcohol, drug, mental, and personality problems and other emotional difficulties affecting job performance. Specifically, this article is devoted to a more thorough description of American employee assistance programs and a discussion of factors that are…