Teacher unions are working in challenging times. Building power is important for teacher unions to resist neoliberal reforms that have aimed to restructure school education and weaken collective organisation. Yet we have few understandings of the democratisation project that teacher unions have engaged in to build and renew internal power in this…

Labour strife in the education sector in Ontario has repeatedly highlighted the precariousness of certain types of teaching and learning that are delivered under the catch-all designation extracurricular. This paper reviews education legislation in Ontario over the past 40 years that has impacted teachers' right to strike; examines how teacher…

Unions have played a decisive role in promoting democracy and social justice in Tunisia. In 2023, two teacher unions led a yearlong 'silent strike' of withholding student marks from administration. Based on interviews with 60 teachers, this article analyses teacher views on the unions and on ongoing protests. While unions are still considered the…

The prevalence of labour disruptions in the Canadian education sector requires a comprehensive analysis of the adverse implications of strikes for stakeholders and Canadian society in general. Education is a kind of public good that generates positive externalities and strikes in Canadian universities and colleges engender negative externalities…

Using Canadian data from 1976 to 2014, I study the size distribution of strikes with three alternative measures of strike size: the number of workers on strike, strike duration in calendar days, and the number of person calendar days lost to a strike. I use a maximum likelihood framework that provides a way to estimate distributions, evaluate…

On October 16, 2017, over 12,000 faculty, librarians, and counsellors in 24 independent postsecondary colleges in Ontario, Canada went on strike for the fourth time since they organized in 1971 as members of the Civil Service Association of Ontario and won their first collective agreement the next year. Begun as an apolitical, self-consciously…

In October 2012, Premier Christy Clark announced government would consult with the education partners for the purpose of reviewing teacher bargaining structures and processes with the goal of providing a more stable learning environment for British Columbia students. The review looked for opportunities to achieve two priorities: (1) Create…

This report presents accounts based on first-hand interviews conducted by Han Dongfang, China's leading labor rights advocate, with workers across China. Han Dongfang was a leader of the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation (BWAF), an independent labor group organized during the Tiananmen Square protests. Han today carries on the fight from Hong…

Purpose: Teachers' resistance to educational reform has been explored, with special attention given to the reasons driving opposition and the resistance practices employed inside school walls. These studies have not, however, examined the agenda setting strategy employed by teachers opposing new policy on the national level, nor has any extensive…

Shows that compulsory arbitration does not prevent strikes, even when nine out of ten workers are covered. (BH)

The case of a strike against Ford and opposition to building an electronics plant in the United Kingdom illustrates the issues facing companies and unions in adopting Japanese industrial practices. Efficient production arrangements conflict with traditional multiunionism, and bargaining positions sometimes lead to company investment in countries…

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)

Surveyed 121 Canadian social workers on their attitudes toward strikes. Results showed subjects had little experience with strikes although 80 percent had no objection in principle to striking. Quality of service was a more important strike issue than traditional union concerns such as wages or job security. (Author/JAC)