The tables have turned on Michigan's public school boards and other school officials. As a result of changes to the state's labor law in 2023, school districts face the risk of losing some authority to determine who should be teaching in their classrooms. Teachers unions are empowered once again to demand districts treat teachers as if they are…

This article examines how teacher collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), teacher salaries, and class sizes changed during the Great Recession. Using a district-level data set of California teacher CBAs that includes measures of subarea contract strength and salaries from 2005-2006 and 2011-2012 tied to district-level longitudinal data, we…

This dissertation reports the results of a qualitative and quantitative research project that examined the perceptions of fifteen participants, in three separate school districts, concerning interest-based and traditional collective bargaining. The study focused on the relationships between administrators and teachers, as well as the financial…

When the Cleveland, Ohio, school board had to make radical cuts in its budget last spring, it was forced to eliminate 540 teaching jobs. There wasn't a whole lot of mystery about "which" teachers among Cleveland's 3,500-member teaching force would be the ones to lose their jobs. The state's hard-and-fast seniority rule--last hired, first…

Teachers unions are among the most powerful, yet least studied, actors in public education today. Although public attention focuses on the influence of national unions, the policies that most affect teachers and schooling are bargained by local unions and school boards. Interviews with 30 recently elected local union presidents reveal that these…

Collaborative teamwork between school board members and administrators in a rural Oregon community concerning negotiations has been positive. Under the new system, the teacher-versus-administrator conflict has been reduced; board members became involved in all the districts' committees; and the time spent on negotiations has been cut in half. (MLF)

Looks at the usefulness of certain procedures and the significance of certain factors that can minimize the time required to reach an agreement between boards and teachers. (Author/IRT)

Spells out some tough guidelines for keeping school boards in charge of public schools. Suggests including in contracts a strong management rights clause, a no-strike clause, cancellation of all bargaining rights during the term of the contract, and specific and detailed restrictions on grievance procedures. (Author/JM)

This dissertation describes a study that sought to determine the relative bargaining effectiveness of the three options open to school boards in selecting a chief negotiator to handle collective bargaining with teacher unions: 1) hiring a professional negotiator from outside the community, 2) appointing a staff administrator, or 3) appointing a…

This report presents the findings of a study that examined how contracts between school districts and teacher organizations affect curriculum and instruction and how school board members and teacher leaders view the negotiation of curriculum and instruction matters. To gather data for the study, the authors first examined teacher contracts in 28…

This paper argues that school boards give away too much in contract negotiations with teacher associations without making sure the concessions they make result in higher educational quality. Educational administrators' general lack of expertise in labor relations, the author maintains, tends to lead to low quality contracts. Reviewing 11 articles…

This report contains the results of a survey of board of education members' and school administrators' attitudes toward collective bargaining. More than 1,600 board members and administrators were questioned at the 1976 National School Boards Association convention on all aspects of collective bargaining, including how school districts negotiate,…

Reflecting the management advocacy position taken by school boards in collective bargaining procedures, this report analyzes New Jersey school labor negotiations laws and practices as of 1978. Terms and issues of special interest are defined and explained. Topics include contract language, good faith bargaining, past practice, negotiations…