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…

In this article, the authors explore the following questions: How have Americans actually responded to these developments? Have they grown more supportive of the current direction of school reform, or are there instead signs of a backlash? And how do the views of teachers compare to those of the public at large? In addition to the views of the…

In this essay, the author explains how teaching assistant (TA) unions work to the benefit not only of the graduate students who are their members but also of the writing programs that employ them. While university administrations understand unions to be bothersome at best and forces of evil at their worst, unions are essential to the maintenance…

According to Joe A. Stone of the University of Oregon, average students do better in classrooms with unionized teachers, but less able and more able students do not. While this particular assumption lacks empirical clarity, many administrators and school board members feel that it would be much easier to reform public education if teacher unions…

Outlines a discussion between Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Wes Apker, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators, that centered on the status of collective bargaining in the schools. (MD)

Formulating and enforcing a code of ethics are characteristics of professional occupations. Such a code has not emerged, and never will, so long as collective bargaining is the dominant employment relations form in education. Unions formed to protect their members cannot accept the "management" responsibility for disciplining unethical…

Within the core of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are a number of measures to hold states, school districts, schools, and school personnel more accountable for student progress. Summarizes state legislation and court cases concerning school administrators, tenure, collective bargaining, and personnel records. (Contains 32 references.) (MLF)

The legal status of tenure rights threatened by financial exigency and the role of the American Association of University Professors in protecting those rights are considered. Accommodations of competing managerial, employee, and institutional interests that must be addressed are also discussed. Court cases are reviewed that deal with managerial…

Urges that teachers be allowed to play a more active role in school restructuring. Argues that democratic ideals cannot be taught by a school system that is not run democratically. Insists that proponents of restructuring and educational renewal must see as central the teachers' control over professional affairs. (DK)

This book analyzes the unionization of elementary and secondary school teachers in a variety of nations. Following the acknowledgments, foreword by Charles T. Kerchner, and introduction, 16 articles are presented from different countries on international labor relations in education. Each chapter contains an overview and exploration of the…

In conjunction with efforts to make more widely known the trend towards decomposition of the tenure system in American colleges and universities, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has examined conditions of full-time nontenure track faculty, part-time/adjunct faculty, graduate employees and new categories of academic professional staff…

Collective bargaining is the process of negotiating and administering a contract agreement between a union and the employing organization. Although the specific provisions of collective bargaining agreements vary from one school to another, the collective bargaining process, and negotiated contract generally, address the following issues:…

Despite differences among state laws authorizing collective bargaining, and despite the variety of administrative and legal structures that enforce collective bargaining rights and obligations, a considerable degree of consensus has evolved throughout the states. Accordingly, this chapter highlights the major features of the law with respect to…