The tables have turned on Michigan's public school boards and other school officials. As a result of changes to the state's labor law in 2023, school districts face the risk of losing some authority to determine who should be teaching in their classrooms. Teachers unions are empowered once again to demand districts treat teachers as if they are…

Guided by Honig and Hatch's (2004) conceptualization of bridging and buffering, we undertook an analysis of reduction in force (RIF) provisions from 546 Ohio teacher collective bargaining agreements. We asked the following question: Are the most disadvantaged school districts providing greater protections to tenured teachers when making RIF…

Guided by Honig and Hatch's conceptualization of bridging and buffering, we analyzed the first teacher collective bargaining agreements negotiated after the enactment of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System to understand how state law has shaped provisions for teacher evaluation, compensation, reductions in force (RIF), transfers, and contract…

Research has shown that "last hired, first fired" policies maximize the number of teachers subject to reductions in force by eliminating those teachers that are lowest on the pay scale first. Until now, advocates of effectiveness-based reduction-in-force (RIF) policies could only point to simulated policy exercises as evidence of the…

We evaluate potential determinants of enrollment in an early retirement incentive program for non-tenure-track employees at a large university. Using administrative records on the eligible, population of employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements, historical employee count and layoff data by budget units, and public information on…

As more and more school systems are forced to implement reduction-in-force, litigation over reduction in the number of professional personnel, as well as job security, will continue to increase. As a result, there is a need for school administrators to develop a better understanding of the issues, outcomes, and legal trends resulting from…

Stories abound about the staffing cuts that will have to be made currently, and in the next couple of years, as the ripple effects of the economic crisis impact local and state education budgets. Major budget cuts make teacher layoffs a near inevitability. This raises two very timely questions: what now determines which teachers are laid off, and…

Tough economic times mean tight school district budgets, possibly for years to come. Education is a labor-intensive industry, and because most districts devote well over half of all spending to teacher compensation, budget cuts have already led to the most substantial teacher layoffs in recent memory. Although the 2010 federal Education Jobs and…

When the Cleveland, Ohio, school board had to make radical cuts in its budget last spring, it was forced to eliminate 540 teaching jobs. There wasn't a whole lot of mystery about "which" teachers among Cleveland's 3,500-member teaching force would be the ones to lose their jobs. The state's hard-and-fast seniority rule--last hired, first…

This article reports that with the poor economy endangering more novice teachers' jobs, researchers and policymakers have begun to question the human-capital costs of "last hired, first fired" layoff policies. Such layoffs, those experts argue, do not consider teacher effectiveness, meaning that teachers who make vital contributions to school…

Even though a faculty member is employed on a basis other than tenure, there remains the expectation of continuing employment. Collective bargaining has not entirely removed the insecurity attached to nontenure positions, but under the conditions of a negotiated contract certain protections can be assured the faculty. Topics discussed in relation…

Examines the background of union security clause (specifically agency shop), analyzes arguments for and against it, details problems remaining after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1977 decision on Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education, and offers some suggestions for the future. (Author/PKP)

Examines the modified "no reduction in force" clause included in the three-year teachers' contract negotiated in the West Milford (New Jersey) School District and discusses its possible implications for future teachers' contract negotiations. Available from: Salary and Merit, Suite 908, 1835 K Street N.W., Washington, D.C.; $2.50 single copy. (JG)

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on seniority and the treatment of employment discrimination under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 are examined. It is argued that in the area of seniority the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has a new role to play in avoiding conflicts between the two acts. (JT)