For a long time, courts have considered whether to enforce one-sided arbitration clauses on the grounds of unconscionability. Unconscionability is a legal ground for refusing to enforce a contract that seems to be too one-sided, or one that is the result of unfair bargaining. Recent Supreme Court cases in 2011 and 2013--"AT&T Mobility v.…

This series of questions and answers on factfinding in public sector labor relations focuses on the practical aspect of impasse resolution. Rather than choosing a theoretical or historical approach, the practical approach was chosen because factfinding is not a formal process that must rigidly conform to textbook rules. Instead, factfinding can be…

The conflict-resolution technique of interpersonal negotiation involves five steps: (1) state your positive intentions; (2) define, analyze, and discuss the problem; (3) summarize progress; (4) explore alternative solutions; and (5) set a time for follow-up. (MLF)

The grievance procedure in higher education and the problem of conflict resolution are approached from a multi-dimensional standpoint. Collective bargaining is presented as both an exacerbator of the litigious nature of college and university relations and as a formal vehicle for conflict resolution within academe. The need for extra-contractual…

Collective bargaining negotiations engender public interest. This article presents a hypothetical scenario in which a city school district has four months to negotiate a new contract before its current teachers' contract expires. Offers examples as to how the district might conduct its negotiations. (LMI)

The dominant faculty dispute resolution process will continue to be negotiation between parties, but mediation will increase. Problem solving by labor-management committees and similar groups, and compulsory interest arbitration, will remain limited. Grievance mediation, although gaining in interest, will not overtake binding grievance…

Because grievances are unavoidable, it is essential for organizations, such as the schools, to utilize an efficient, effective procedure to handle friction between employers and employees. Through successive steps, representatives of labor and management attempt to resolve the grievance, first with meetings of lower level representatives (such as…

This handbook is designed to serve as a guide to help school boards understand collective bargaining and the labor-management relationships in their districts. Chapter 1 describes what school-board members need to know. Chapter 2 discusses some of the political and legal realities that school boards face in the collective-bargaining process.…

Four essays present tactics and strategies for administrators involved in collective negotiation. Myron Lieberman, in "Ground Rules, Scope and Proposed Preparation in Collective Negotiations," points out the danger to administrators of saying too much at the bargaining table. R. Warren Eisenhower, in "Grievance Procedures,"…

Designed to help school business managers understand management-labor relations, this handbook outlines a managerial approach to negotiations designed to protect the local educational agency's needs. The principles and philosophy of negotiations as well as its legal setting are presented in the introduction and first two chapters. Chapters 3, 4,…

Proceedings of the 1981 conference on the legal and economic status of collective bargaining in higher education, sponsored by the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, are presented. Papers and authors are as follows: "Yeshiva Shock Waves" (David Kuechle); "The Yeshiva Case:…

A bibliography of 765 items which illustrates the wide range of topics that affect collective bargaining in higher education and the professions for 1981, is presented. Items are dated 1978 or later, and ERIC reference numbers are cited where appropriate. The primary focus and interest is academic collective bargaining; however, the literature on…