Back in the mid-2000s, in public and in the news media, Joseph P. Burke, then superintendent of the Springfield public schools, and Timothy T. Collins, president of the local teachers' union, often seemed to be at odds with each other. Out of the public eye, however, the two men had begun meeting regularly. When Burke left the district, the work…

In the Fall 2007, there were landmark labor contracts agreed upon between the United Autoworkers (UAW) and the Big Three Automakers--General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC. The impetus for these truly historic labor agreements was to afford the automakers to remain competitive in the global market while labor was to be protected.…

Massive protests have been the norm in Wisconsin, since Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a plan to strip many collective bargaining rights from teachers and most other public employees. GOP elected officials are pursuing similar measures in Ohio and other states. But in the DeForest district, like some others around the state, collective bargaining,…

In times of limited resources, the likelihood of difficult negotiations between labor and management may increase even in the best of school districts. The negotiation process can range from traditional to positional to competitive to a more collaborative and cooperative interest-based approach. The most productive approach is a matter of debate…

Research and experience in school labor relations suggest that superintendents can be more effective during contract talks by acting like unbiased education leaders--not tough negotiators. Superintendents can avoid taking adversarial positions by staying off the bargaining team and following suggested guidelines for their role as educator,…

Attitudes of principals and assistant principals before, during, and after a teacher strike that occurred in mid-1988 in Louisiana's "A" parish school system are examined in this study. A second focus is on differences between principals and assistant principals in levels of experience and attitudes. Questionnaires mailed to 23…

Discusses the unionization of support staff in academic and public libraries based on experiences in Ohio. Highlights include the legal framework for labor relations; reasons that library support staff are attracted to unions; negotiating the contract with union and library management; and administering the collective bargaining agreement. (10…

Designed to assist administrators faced with representing management's position in the collective bargaining process, this paper synthesizes information on the history, legal basis, processes, and trends of collective bargaining in the United States. Section I provides a brief history of collective bargaining, highlighting major federal and state…

Describes Boston's efforts to abandon adversarial bargaining in favor of a reform-oriented contract establishing a shared decision-making model of school-based management. The model includes significant parent involvement, a mentoring program for new teachers, a voluntary peer-assistance program for veteran teachers, and collaborative…

This manual presents a collaborative "situational negotiations" approach to collective bargaining. After a brief introduction, part 1 describes the traditional adversarial bargaining model, using a case study from a medium-sized school district in the state of Washington to illustrate how the aftermath of confrontational bargaining is…

This article records and assesses developments in relations between employers and academic staff in British polytechnic institutes and colleges. It focuses on the conditions of service and contracts of employment for lecturers. It also analyzes to what extent these issues are symptomatic of a shift in the employee relations strategy of schools…

Employee Involvement Schemes (EIS) are modeled after Western European worker participation models. These are grounded in collaborative labor relations and encourage employees to participate in work place decision-making. If employees, as the term is defined in the National Labor Relations Act, take part in EIS decision-making processes, they may…

A profile of Rochester, New York, Public School District's educational reform efforts from 1987 to 1990 is offered in this case study. Following an overview of the city and its public schools, the impetus for educational reform is discussed, with attention given to the roles of the superintendent, teachers' union president, and school board.…

This study provides background information and recommendations for administrators pertaining to collective bargaining in the Washington State Community College System. It begins with a brief overview of the history of the laws and statutes relating to negotiations in the community colleges of Washington, followed by an inventory of the contents…

The report summarizes unionization activities among college faculty in the United States in 1989. Faculty unionizing continued to increase for the sixth consecutive year and contrasts with decreases in the overall unionized sector. Organized faculty comprised approximately 30% of the professoriate. Faculty unions were successful in 11 of 14…