The successful organization of the 1990s will fundamentally remake its employee relationship, especially through increased employee influence on the nature of work, organizational context, and quality of product/service. An employee advocacy peer review conflict resolution process has been useful in improving labor relations and enhancing the…

During the 1980s, the number of local education associations engaging in some type of collaborative bargaining, a problem-solving approach conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, grew significantly. In exploring the theory and practice of collaborative bargaining, the National Education Association relied on available published materials and…

This report presents an expanded vision for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as a professional union that advocates for its members and that, through collaborative labor management relations, assumes joint custody for ensuring the quality of institutions in which members work and services they provide. The report calls on the AFT to…

An indispensable book for administrators, policymakers, scholars, and practitioners, "Urban School Reform" presents a revealing portrait of reform efforts while identifying the full range of issues that education reformers will need to address in districts across the country in the years ahead. Today's urban school reformers face a…

The author sees cause for concern in the number of complaints to the International Labour Organisation alleging violations of teachers' union rights. She examines the right of public employees to organize and strike and government interference, concluding that greater protection for teachers' unions may be needed. (SK)

At the national level, factors that may discourage teacher strikes include the availability of revenues and the greater "sophistication" of negotiators. Highlights legislation proposed in Pennsylvania that sets a timetable for negotiations and puts restrictions on when teachers can call a strike. (MLF)

Somewhere between easygoing and hardboiled management extremes lies the realm of true leadership. An effective administrator gets results by leading people (not ordering them), learning how to handle them, and discovering what makes each one tick. A true leader captures and holds staff members' confidence, helps them develop needed skills, and…

Although conventional collective bargaining has helped teachers achieve greater professional status, its win/lose approach causes participants to overlook shared educational objectives. Since the first experiments in win/win bargaining, the acrimony generated by the adversarial process has led an increasing number of school districts to…

Discusses the implications of the demographic and geographic situation of libraries in Canada for library unionization. Insight is also provided into issues directly related to library management and library unions, including five factors which cause distrust and dissatisfaction. (CHC)

Although many school districts may effectively use traditional industrial union bargaining, this approach is based on an adversarial posture emphasizing winners and losers. This article describes more mature industrial relations bargaining structures, such as meet-and-confer, win-win, and alternative approaches that transcend the legally mandated…

Portrays a (British) sixth-form college's experiences while preparing for incorporation. Analyzes recent developments of interest to education managers facing externally imposed change. Focuses on communication and consultation structures, the changing balance of power as institutions become independent entities, and industrial relations in a new…

Most frequently made collective-bargaining errors include mistaking rhetoric for reality, negotiating every teacher demand, settling too soon, failing to resolve board conflict, allowing unions to define the comparison base, accepting ambiguous solutions, circumventing the bargaining team, not seeking counsel, waving "red flags," and trusting the…

An Illinois district created a collaborative contract agreement that lays a foundation for future multiyear contracts. In the process, participants learned to build a participative district atmosphere benefitting all three leadership parties, seek compromise, avoid unnecessary contract language changes, allow minimal publicity about sessions, and…

Within Australia's complex labor relations system, federal law has gradually become dominant over state law. In the 1990s, the Australian High Court broadened workers' entitlements. In a 1995 case, teachers have become pivotal in the new industrial relations system. The federal law becomes more significant for unions and their members in seeking…

Scholars and practitioners have long criticized teacher evaluation as ineffective. Peer assistance and review (PAR) alters traditional teacher evaluation, as master teachers conduct summative as well as formative assessment of beginning teachers and veteran teachers in need of intervention. Relying on data from a longitudinal case study of one…