The crisis in the American economy has provided an opportunity to change traditional bargaining methods and to get the unions involved in taking a serious look at their stake in a healthy economy. (JOW)

Outlines a discussion between Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Wes Apker, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators, that centered on the status of collective bargaining in the schools. (MD)

The political trend toward holding down the labor costs associated with public education continues unabated. Until elected officials are prepared to fund the high cost of quality education--including improving instructional wages and benefits in a significant way--dissatisfaction and frustration will continue to plague the bargaining process for…

Two bills considered by the 81st General Assembly of the State of Illinois could provide access to collective bargaining for public employees. House Bill 808 provides these rights to employees in public and higher education, and House Bill 1178 requires collective bargaining for police officers in units of local government with populations under…

Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski is kingpin of a new breed of union leaders who want to be partners, not adversaries, in the school improvement crusade. Despite his good intentions, many people in his hometown are disgruntled with him. The article describes his work over the past five years. (SM)

For most of America's history, teachers have had few labor negotiating rights and little power to exert them. The National Labor Relations Act established the National Labor Relations Board and helped teachers gain more power in labor negotiations. Many worker rights gained from the 1930s through the 1970s were undermined by the increased…

This guide contains practical, field-tested advice concerning the development of a suitable negotiating strategy for management's use in public sector collective bargaining. The author stresses that strategies are long-term plans of action and that this book does not consider bargaining tactics--the individual methods used to achieve the strategic…

In the late 1980s a new concept entered the educational lexicon in Australia--"award restructuring," or paid training leave for teachers. However, by 1993 the term had disappeared from public view. What began as a new politics of work developed into a complex debate about governance and leadership in Australian education. This book…

Three aspects of the collective bargaining process are detrimental to school district governance: (1) teachers' associations gain decision-making authority over management prerogatives; (2) union demands illegally infringe on statutory duties of school districts; and (3) the conflict between laypersons and professionals for control of the schools…

Forecasts the items unions will bring to the bargaining table to launch their labor-management relationship and membership into the twenty-first century. The future will require greater cooperation and a closer working relationship between the school systems and unions. (MLF)

Despite differences among state laws authorizing collective bargaining, and despite the variety of administrative and legal structures that enforce collective bargaining rights and obligations, a considerable degree of consensus has evolved throughout the states. Accordingly, this chapter highlights the major features of the law with respect to…

Since the 1960s, the number of strikes by public employees, especially local government employees, has increased, and the number of employees belonging to unions or associations has about tripled. Recently, attention has been focused on strikes by public employees as a result of the strike in 1981 by air traffic controllers and their subsequent…

The meeting of some 300 college administrators, faculty unionists, arbitrators specializing in education, and members of government agencies dealing with collective bargaining is reported in the proceedings of the Seventh Annual Conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education. Topics and speakers…

This paper examines and assesses the behavioral content of industrial relations research in a variety of social science disciplines. The authors compare economic research on the wage and productivity consequences of unionism with psychological research on worker attitudes toward unions, sociological research on the negotiation process and conflict…

To prosper in the future, unions will have to expand from their traditional blue-collar base, revise their approach to appeal to new worker values, and cooperate internationally. (IS)