Essays argue that (1) unions can translate professional concerns into action; (2) unions need to concentrate more on the professional concern of improving education; and (3) only a national teachers union has the membership, staff, and strength to deal effectively with the multitude of concerns facing contemporary education. (MM)

Describes a Vocational Exploration Program at the military base, Fort Lewis, in Tacoma, Washington, which provided opportunities for 20 young women to sample jobs formerly reserved for men. This program is sponsored jointly by the National Alliance of Business and the AFL-CIO and funded under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. (MF)

Labor unions and academic institutions are joining forces to reach the large population of working adults who have been left out of the mainstream of higher education. Some educational methods are described and ways to finance continuing programs are suggested. (Author/MLW)

Using an innovative delivery system, curricular design, and approach to student services, Wayne State University has been able to clear many of the obstacles that have traditionally denied working adults access to higher education. Community relations are discussed and a labor studies program is described. (Author/MLW)

Student-faculty ratios from 1970-1976 at 34 institutions covered by collective bargaining contracts do not indicate decreases in the number of students per full-time faculty member. Further research is suggested to determine if there is an increase in the use of part-time faculty at these schools and to investigate the lack of nonpecuniary gains…

Problems of faculty unionization cases stemming from the application of laws and doctrines developed for industrial labor situations to an academic setting and findings of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are discussed. It is suggested that NLRB jurisdiction depends on definition of the role of the faculty. (BH)

Meatpacking communities in America's Midwest have become home to thousands of impoverished immigrant workers from Mexico, Central America, and Laos, recruited to work in poor and dangerous working conditions for low wages and no benefits. Suggests that public policy needs to address protecting and improving the situation of immigrant workers. (LP)

Maintains that reunification allowed teacher unions of the former West Germany to move into the former East Germany, filling a structural void left by the dissolution of the Communist Party. Specifically examines the reactions of newly elected teacher union leaders from the former East Germany to subsequent events in the education and political…

Describes the Nassau School Library System and the role it plays in enabling librarians at 328 member libraries in Nassau County, New York, to become instructional leaders and key members of technology and curriculum planning teams. Highlights include how the change process was started, examples of practical accomplishments, promotion of library…

Presents results of an evaluation of C.D. Cat, a CD-ROM union catalog developed by the Associated College Libraries of Central Pennsylvania consortium. Outcomes are reported in the areas of bibliographic quality, user evaluation, public relations strategies, bibliographic instruction, and guidelines for continuing operations. Recommendations are…

Describes the political struggles of the Teacher's Educational League in Buffalo, New York, and its founder, Mary A. O'Conner. Discusses the issues and problems women teachers encountered in attempts to reform teacher administrator relations. Traces the league's challenge to the Board of Education and the state of New York; explains that many of…

Teacher unionization, centralization of financial control, desegregation, and weakening in business involvement are among the political factors that have contributed to the decline in public school performance between 1965 and 1980. Research into these factors confirms the importance of political influences on schooling and suggests that…

As in other industries, expansion of part-time work has profoundly affected salaries and working conditions of full-time faculty and staff at many colleges. If public higher education is to survive the influences of privatization, vocationalization, and downsizing, faculty unions, having established a place in the academy, must become more heavily…

The public continues to oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense, but favors government-paid tuition for students choosing to attend any public, private, or religious school. The public assigns local schools passing grades, likes schools' size, favors school prayer, and wants innercity schools to…

Eduardo Padron, president of Miami-Dade Community College (Florida), has created unprecedented diversity throughout the institution, created new transfer agreements, and made technological advancements. After three years, his take-charge administrative style has created tension with faculty, which recently voted to unionize. Some observers cite…