Suggests the implementation of ombudsmen in the grievance process to provide a safeguard against overtaping the internal workings of the process which could result in severe damage and loss of efficiency. (Author)

Describes GTE's experience in developing policies and procedures for promoting positive employee relations during periods of reduction-in-force and facility closings. (JOW)

Reviewed are the most significant legal issues affecting labor relations in education. Concerns involving agency shop, duty of fair representation, impasse arbitration, tenure, and curriculum (what it should or should not contain) are summarized. (MD)

Presents an overview of the history, current status, and trends in federal sector labor relations as seen through the executive order system. (Author)

In the 1970s, public employee unions consciously modeled their objectives, strategies, and behavior on private sector unions. With refinements, the private sector model is working well in the public sector. (Author/IRT)

The supervisor's traditional role of authority and leadership has changed, accompanied by a gradual diminution of his/her status. Training in industrial relations would help the supervisor understand his/her new role and reestablish his/her self-esteem. The process of training for supervisors must assume priority within the activities of the…

Comments on J. Pisapia's "The Open Bargaining Model" and asks that before structural changes are made in the bargaining process that Pisapia's list of trilateral practices be investigated and analyzed carefully as to the implications and impacts of each practice over time. (Author/MLF)

This paper develops the rationale for the utilization of a special board of inquiry in complex labor-management disputes when collective bargaining breaks down. (Author)

Explores the ways in which public referendums might be used in public employee labor relations. Two judgments are reached: whether the device could actually be implemented in New York City, and whether its use would be in the interest of sound public policy. (Author/IRT)

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

Effective labor relations training for first-line supervisors should cover the contract, basic labor relations principles, consistent application of discipline, and cost savings concepts. (Author/IRT)

A study of 1,509 British employees found that controlling for industrial relations climate reduced the negative relationship between unionization and job satisfaction. The data did not support the theory that union workers' expressions of dissatisfaction through union mechanisms were distinct from "genuine" dissatisfaction. (SK)

The workplace is embedded in three force fields: the macro field of globalization/technology, the meso field of transnational production networks, and the micro field of local labor markets and organizations. Each field influences the way flexibility and cost reduction are prioritized and has consequences for workplace structures and relations.…