Teachers' unions are under unprecedented bipartisan attack. The drumbeat is relentless, from governors in Wisconsin and Ohio to the film directors of "Waiting for 'Superman'" and "The Lottery"; from new lobbying groups like Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst and Wall Street's Democrats for Education Reform to political columnists such as Jonathan Alter…

In 2002, approximately two thirds of school teachers in the Canadian province of Alberta went on strike. Drawing on media, government and union documents, this case study reveals some contours of the political economy of labor relations in education that are normally hidden from view. Among these features are that the state can react to worker…

Profiles Robert P. Bates, director of field services for the American Federation of Teachers. (IRT)

The downside to collaborative bargaining is people's infatuation with the process rather than the outcome. Some school board officials claim that successful collaborative bargaining sessions happen only in wealthier districts. The most effective negotiator/facilitators are professionals found within the school district. Extreme positions could…

The proper role of collective bargaining in the public sector is to help establish the benefits that employees will accrue as a result of their employment. Any extension beyond that should be seriously questioned. Available from Kansas Association of School Boards, 5401 S.W. Seventh Avenue, Topeka, Kansas; SC $1.00. (Author/IRT)

Mutual gains negotiation is an innovative system that emphasizes interests instead of positions and problem solving instead of preconceived solutions. The process can reverse social disintegration, reverse worker alienation, and address a shifting educational environment. It can resolve difficult labor-management problems such as contracting out,…

Describes the process for hearing complaints filed under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. For related articles, see pages 21 and 22 in the same issue. (WD)

Introduces the special section of this issue on the Public Employee Relations Act (Act 195) in Pennsylvania. (IRT)

A "pro-management" leadership stance means that board members and administrators run schools so that employees are comfortable bringing concerns to management directly rather than through a union. (Author/IRT)

Reviews present labor statutes and examines three alternatives to current practices; proposes that teaching, by its nature, is not well administered by industrial standards or well adjudicated through industrial unionism. Suggests "professional unionism" as a means of effecting educational reform. (DR)

A superintendent narrates the events preceding a strike in his district, and the steps he took to prepare for and weather the strike. (IRT)

Tired of contentious negotiations that hobble school systems with strikes and compromise pacts, school leaders are questioning the traditional adversarial approach to bargaining. As the experiences of Boston and Cincinnati show, principled or collaborative negotiation can turn adversaries into allies. A sidebar outlines joint training requirements…

Trends of the late 1970s in educational labor relations will continue in the 1980s. There will be less legislation permitting public sector unionization, slower union organizing, tougher negotiations, more inter-union fights, more attempts to organize educational managers, greater political activity among educational unions, and increased debate…

Argues that the two extremes of aggression or capitulation are equally malproductive ways for administrators to approach teacher unions and collective bargaining. Suggests instead a relationship that moves between the lesser opposites of antagonism and cooperation called "antagonistic cooperation" by labor economist E. Wight Bakke.…

Reviews the literature on the effects of teacher strikes on students and reports the results of a study analyzing student achievement in the presence or absence of strikes. Students in schools not experiencing strikes showed consistent gains, especially in mathematics, over students in schools where strikes took place. (WD)