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…

This paper highlights some of the similarities and differences in the labor-management experiences of Boston University (Massachusetts), Temple University (Pennsylvania), the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut), and Yeshiva University (New York) to determine which may represent failures and which do not. In comparing the Yeshiva and Boston…

As teacher associations and unions have increased in number and strength, superintendents and education boards have had to devote more time to the process of negotiations. In the winter and spring of 1989, 400 questionnaires were mailed to a random national sample of school superintendents to examine the following areas dealing with negotiations…

Arbitration decisions resulting from school district disciplinary actions and professional employee grievances are studied to determine the extent to which school district decisions are upheld by arbitrators, and to identify factors for the support, modification, or contest of a district decision. Data sources are 333 arbitration cases from 27…

The use of seniority in current school layoff and transfer practices and the impact of seniority provisions on school operations are examined in this paper. The data for the study came from two sources: interviews with teachers, principals, union leaders, and district administrators in four school districts (drawn from a national sample) facing…

This study broadens the base of judicial impact studies in education, extends a theoretical model appropriate for such studies, and suggests implications for policy and practice in the area of public sector labor relations, particularly with reference to the use of antistrike injunctions. Focal point for the study is an examination of the 1973…

Examines the history of violence in American society, explains some reasons behind these acts, and explores the implications of societal acceptance of violence. While criminologists consider extreme violence to be deviant forms of natural aggression, the paper shows that American society tolerates physical force when expressing political dissent…

On the premise that union election campaigns on college campuses can provide useful lessons for public relations practitioners, this paper examines literature pertaining to organizing efforts in order to discover public relations problems that can be posed by the reciprocal nature of the influences between the internal and external audiences…

In spite of recent advances in mechanization, farmworkers continue to be a vital and necessary element in the harvesting of American crops. However, farmworkers, whether migrant or non-migrant, continue to have the lowest annual income of all occupational groups. The overriding concern is one of powerlessness. Farmworkers have been excluded at the…

The rejection of the "Great Forces" and "Great Man" theories of newspaper history allows a middle-range view that seeks to discover the uniqueness of the newspaper business and to explain how that uniqueness shaped the business values of the editors and proprietors. An examination of three Chicago, Illinois, newspapers--the…

The number of competing daily newspapers in American cities has dwindled until only about 50 cities boast two papers. Of the newspapers in those cities, 23 now maintain separate editorial operations but have joint printing, advertising, and circulation departments. The concept of joint operation is 50 years old, dating from the Depression years…

This study tests the fit of competing models of strike causes on a sample of public school districts in New York. The models are based on differing assumptions. One is that strikes are the result of mistakes or imperfect information; the other is that strikes are rational choices made in expectation of gain. The differences in these views are…

This paper reviews seven specific components of change that labor militancy in public education will have on the American economic system in the future. First, teacher militancy will influence other public employees to become more militant and will pressure private-sector employees to unionize. Second, additional state and federal public-employer…

Collective bargaining relationships in school districts are affected by court actions in a variety of ways. Courts have acted as a "surrogate legislature" by providing legal structures where legislation is absent and by modifying legislation through the process of statutory construction. This paper examines the courts' role in structuring…

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, a national catastrophe and the major news story of the year, was the first national labor strike in U.S. history. Because of the ideological bias of the press, specifically its implicit commitment to capitalism and to objectivity (itself a "myth" of social order), newspapers of the period could be…