This article will explain how a series of educator strikes in 2022 in Ghana led to increased awareness of and calls for tax justice and debt relief from a growing movement of public sector workers and civil society organisations. We chart how the issues and demands of teacher organisations and other public sector workers shifted and increased over…

The U.S. has witnessed a resurgence of labor activism, with teachers at the forefront. We examine how teacher strikes affect compensation, working conditions, and productivity with an original dataset of 772 teacher strikes generating 48 million student days idle between 2007 and 2023. Using an event study framework, we find that, on average,…

This paper investigates the case of Singapore where there are teachers' unions but industrial actions are rare. It questions why and how has educator organising, steered by Singapore Teachers' Union, transformed? Our findings show that historical, political, and socio-economic dynamics have influenced the transformation of STU. For more than…

Teachers unions have had a "muscular" presence in some states, but in others, especially in the South and Southwest, the unions have held little power in recent decades, and the growing dominance of conservative Republicans in state legislatures and statehouses was creating a hostile environment with right-to-work (RTW) laws. The…

School superintendents have many roles, and being responsible for collective bargaining is one of those roles in states where collective bargaining is mandatory. This role has changed over the years, and it varies from school district to school district. As teacher associations and unions have increased in number and strength, superintendents and…

Union-management relationships have been filled with fear since the rise of capitalism; public education is no different. Workers fear exploitation by owners (profits depend on it) and capitalist/management has always worried that the working classes will organize and either take over the firm or strike and bring production to a screeching halt.…

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are facing three realities that might make them reluctant to strike: an army of unemployed teachers, an internecine battle, and a rotten economy. (Author/IRT)

The opinions of Laszlo Hetenyi on teacher unionism are examined in the light of the writings of William James and John Dewey. (JD)

This article discusses recent court decisions affecting the relationship between teachers' associations and unions and the public agencies that employ those teachers. Topics discussed include constitutional rights, union representation and union rights, obligation to bargain and scope of bargaining, grievances and arbitrability, fiscal…

This paper reviews seven specific components of change that labor militancy in public education will have on the American economic system in the future. First, teacher militancy will influence other public employees to become more militant and will pressure private-sector employees to unionize. Second, additional state and federal public-employer…

Reports on the American Federation of Teachers national convention. (IRT)

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

Examines teacher organization involvement in politics at the state and federal level, particularly in collective bargaining issues. (IRT)