Iowa's four-year experience with "tri-offer" final offer arbitration in teacher-school board negotiations--in which an arbitrator chooses among the teachers', the board's, and the factfinder's offers--shows that the process encourages voluntary settlements but does not keep the two sides from taking unrealistic bargaining positions. (RW)

This chapter reviews collective bargaining cases in education during 1986. Although the courts addressed a broad range of topics, no new legal principles were applied in these cases. The courts relied on traditional labor law concepts and applied them to the specific statutes and policies of the applicable jurisdiction. The review addresses the…

In 1982 plant closings in the United States affected approximately 1 percent of the country's manufacturing facilities and 1 percent of its manufacturing labor force. Included among the reasons cited for plant closings were low productivity, high wages, and inflexible work rules. Given the nature of the reasons for plant closings and the magnitude…