This issue reviews trends in public sector employment (particularly in the light of government policy to reduce it), wages (in a context of cash limits), and strikes and other forms of industrial action. It also considers recent developments in the structure, organization, and policy of the "actors" in public sector industrial relations.…

This series of questions and answers on factfinding in public sector labor relations focuses on the practical aspect of impasse resolution. Rather than choosing a theoretical or historical approach, the practical approach was chosen because factfinding is not a formal process that must rigidly conform to textbook rules. Instead, factfinding can be…

This series of questions and answers on contract administration in public sector labor relations focuses on the practical aspects of both contract administration and grievance handling. Its purpose is to provide information and examples to help practitioners better understand the roles of labor and management while operating under a collective…

Any legitimate theory of employment rights must be founded on the premise that employment is a voluntary relationship governed by mutual consent; an employment right does not exist apart from contract. Analyzes the legal aspects of public sector employment. (Author/MLF)

This book serves as a practical guide to be used by public agencies that have entered into collective bargaining with their employees and must therefore face the possibility of employee strikes and acts of militancy. Seven major areas are addressed: distinctions between public sector and private sector strikes; the use of interest arbitration as…

A supplement to an earlier-published volume on bargaining tactics, this document presents specific tactics that can be used in the course of public sector collective bargaining to further management's pre-established negotiating strategies. All the tactics suggested are drawn from the author's personal experience as a public sector labor…

Following introductory sections concerning the history of collective bargaining and the distinctions between the public and private sectors that affect labor relations, this document presents approaches that managers in the public sector can take when dealing with employees. The author notes the government's responsibility in the growth of…

Retrieval bargaining is the process of removing, through collective bargaining, benefits won by employees in previous negotiations. This document treats the retrieval bargaining process, explaining first the factors that could make such cutback management techniques necessary in the public sector, including federal funding reductions, inflationary…

Whether or not collective bargaining in the public sector becomes a universal practice, work stoppages cannot be considered an acceptable method for resolving contract disputes. Public opposition to strikes by teachers is growing. School districts and teachers must realize that collective bargaining is a process of compromise, and that candor,…

This report discusses teacher organizing, strikes, collective bargaining and negotiations, contract settlements, economic issues, legal developments, and state legislative activities. The first section contains fact sheets and organizing literature from the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). A…

Decisions made by federal and state courts during 1983 concerning the employment, dismissal, and tenuring of the employees of public agencies--in particular, public schools--are reported in this chapter. The chapter first addresses discrimination in employment based on race, sex, age, or physical limitations and notes that the shifting burden of…