In 2018, West Virginia teachers staged a statewide strike which lasted almost two weeks and included schools across all 55 countywide districts. The main reported strike issues for West Virginia teachers included cuts to their healthcare coverage by the state and relatively low salaries. Prior to the strike, West Virginia teachers ranked 48th in…

Since the 1960s, teachers unions across the United States have used strikes or the threat of strikes to influence the terms of collective bargaining agreements with local school districts. In the spring of 2018, teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and elsewhere changed their tack, staging walkouts designed to secure salary hikes and…

Teacher strikes and walkouts in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and elsewhere grabbed public attention last spring, but these wildfires of statewide activism are unlikely to spread far. In most states, teachers have unique and powerful advantages in local politics--advantages they are unlikely to give up anytime soon--and they are already active…

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…

Today's movement in support of the 99 percent is a reminder that throughout U.S. history, a major engine of change has been grass-roots organizing and solidarity. Major history textbooks, however, downplay the role of ordinary people in shaping events--especially those who formed labor unions and used the strike to assert their rights. One of the…

The chapters on the 1960s and early 1970s in recent editions of secondary-level United States history textbooks have done an impressive job in getting beyond the traditional political narratives of presidential administrations to include the movements of protest and reform based on citizen activism. But despite their laudable efforts to broaden…

What lies at the end of the trail of unionization of government employees is union control of government for its own ends. (Author/IRT)

The growth of unionization and the enactment of collective bargaining legislation are considered to be the causes of increased strike activity in the public sector. This paper includes statistical data on the frequency and number of public employee strikes in each state; summarizes the state labor legislation; and presents an average of strikes,…

When the economy improves, strikes will increase as workers strive for their share in the new wealth. It is up to training directors to push hard for company-wide strike-avoidance programs. (Author)

Discusses potential ethical conflicts social workers face in a strike: whether priority should be given to patient welfare or to the individual's civil rights to participate in union activities. Notes standards of professional behavior conflict with union requirements. Concludes the social work profession should examine labor unions in the 1980s…

Presents an analysis of the forces motivating the union and the board of education in the 1979 Washington, D.C. teachers' strike. (IRT)

Reasons for the failure of a teachers' strike are analyzed. (JD)

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

Discusses the role of workers' education in the promotion of trade union rights; union rights in practice; problem areas such as exploited groups, political activity, and striking. (JOW)

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…