In March 2017, the Supreme Court decided "Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association" and upheld the constitutionality of agency fees for nonunion teachers. We examine how "Friedrichs" reflects a host of issues grouped around a patchwork of ideological commitments regarding teachers unions and public-sector unions more…

In recent years, issues pertaining to graduate student union organizing have been at the center of several political battles and court cases. This attention is, at least in part, due to the growth of graduate student unions at a time when organized labor's influence is receding in other, more traditionally unionized sectors of the labor force. As…

Public education today faces a troubling set of challenges, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, with school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state? This study--described here and, in more detail, in a related report--of seven California school districts…

Almost daily, media headlines draw attention to students struggling academically and emotionally from interrupted learning, high student absenteeism, declining enrollment, teacher and leader burnout, staffing shortages, polarized communities, and school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state of…

For most of the past decade, this author has studied union-management efforts to improve public education, and has witnessed extraordinary examples of teachers, union leaders, and administrators working together to improve teaching and learning. In this article, seven case studies on collaborative partnerships between teachers' unions and…

This article examines the legal and political significance of teacher unionization in rural and suburban school districts between 1960 and 1975. While most historians focus on the growth of unions in urban areas, strikes in outlying districts played a determinative role in the development of public sector labor law, particularly in the arbitration…

This qualitative study examines the effects of multiple years of layoff notices on first- or second-year, K-12 teachers employed in a Northern California, suburban school district in 2008-2009. During years of budget crisis in California, teachers new to the profession experienced ongoing employment uncertainty. This study endeavored to understand…

Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) is a local labor-management initiative designed to improve teacher quality. In PAR, expert "consulting teachers" mentor, support, and evaluate novice and underperforming veteran teachers. Evaluations under PAR can lead to dismissals. The authors examine the costs and benefits of PAR, both financial and…

In a global knowledge economy, filling in the bubbles on a standardized test isn't going to prepare children to succeed in life. This is the time to shed the old conflicts and come together. In this article, the author suggests a new path forward--toward a 21st-century education system, a serious and comprehensive reform plan to transform U.S.…

For most of America's history, teachers have had few labor negotiating rights and little power to exert them. The National Labor Relations Act established the National Labor Relations Board and helped teachers gain more power in labor negotiations. Many worker rights gained from the 1930s through the 1970s were undermined by the increased…

As in campaigns to organize graduate student employees, the way in which postdocs are classified by their institutions is important. A postdoc is no longer a student and should not expect to be treated like one. Frequently, however, the postdoc experience is little different from that of a graduate student, with perhaps slightly higher pay.…

The exploratory essay studies the activities of the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA) from 1931 to 1940. (NQ)

The Bay Area Employer Policy Survey was designed to gather comprehensive data on employer policies and practices and to undertake an extensive analysis of variations in practices by industry size and other characteristics. The San Jose Metropolitan Area and the five-county San Francisco-Oakland Area were included in the study. A sample of 300…

Since 1987, 12 California school districts and their teachers' unions have experimented with a new form of labor accord called an Educational Policy Trust Agreement. The project helps teachers, as represented by their unions, and school management to reach agreements on issues that are not included within the scope of traditional collective…

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)