A public school teacher recounts her personal struggle against compulsory unionization in Michigan and describes the adverse effects of collective bargaining on public education. These include loss of public support, antagonism between teachers and administrators, and a decline in teacher professionalism and educational quality. (TE)

Reviews the way in which collective bargaining has eroded the prerogative of school boards in curriculum management and innovation. A persistent problem is that school boards need input from teachers on curriculum concerns, yet they must retain decision-making latitude by keeping curriculum issues out of bargaining contracts. (TE)

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…