The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are facing three realities that might make them reluctant to strike: an army of unemployed teachers, an internecine battle, and a rotten economy. (Author/IRT)

Reports on the American Federation of Teachers national convention. (IRT)

Examines issues that came out of the NEA convention and that are of interest to school boards and school superintendents. (IRT)

Discusses proposed Congressional legislation that would assign to the Federal Government the role of final arbitrator between school boards and teachers. (JF)

Explains Connecticut's Teacher Negotiation Act (October 1979), designed to bring about negotiated contract settlements resolving board/teacher impasses and thereby avoid strikes. Responses to the author's questionnaire of Connecticut board members, district administrators, and teachers reveal broad recognition of the law's effectiveness but doubt…

Detractors of Connecticut's Teacher Negotiation Act, who represent board members and teachers, claim the law currently takes away too much negotiating power from their respective groups. (JBM)

Following a 1980 strike by San Jose, California, public school teachers, the San Jose school board was embarrassed by a $6.2 million budget surplus into granting a teacher contract beyond its fiscal capacity. The school board's subsequent decision to declare bankruptcy established a controversial precedent for similar actions elsewhere. (JBM)