Over the past decade, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland has focused on improving teacher capacity as a strategy to address achievement gaps and promote "college-ready" standards in what has become an "urban suburb" with significant pockets of high-need students. As part of this focus on quality teaching, the…

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, comes alive when recalling his start in local politics--as a labor organizer agitating for reform inside decrepit and overcrowded schools. In his quest to turn around the schools, the mayor has united working-class Latino parents, civil rights leaders, and big-money Democrats to challenge union…

Describes the causes of the increase in faculty unionism over the past eight years and describes a report prepared for the Carnegie Commission and the Ford Foundation which analyzes this new campus development. (GS)

Presents the edited remarks of the speakers at the 1979 Annual AFL-CIO Education Conference. The sessions and workshops were focused on the question of how to educate on the important issues facing the labor movement. Speakers addressed such topics as the role of educators in organizing training, the organization of training programs, responses to…

Daily summaries, official tally of votes, resolutions, and constitutional amendments adopted at the 62nd annual convention of the American Federation of Teachers, ALF-CIO, Washington, D.C., August 21-24, 1978, are presented. (JD)

Develops an organizational explanation of declining union membership, termed the "replenishment thesis." Reviews established theories of unionization and analyzes causes of the decline of union membership in the United States since World War II. Presents case study data on the United Furniture Workers's Union. (JDH)

Traces the development of library labor unions. Suggests that, with unionization firmly established, more centralization would increase its potential as a factor in the profession. (AP)

Describes some of the "latest family squabbles" amongst the leaders and members of the national teachers' unions. (Author/WM)

The NEA and its affiliates represent the nation's second-largest employee organization network. As a result the U.S. Department of Labor is continuing to press for inclusion of NEA groups under Landrum-Griffin scrutiny. Investigates what that means for teacher organizations. (Editor/RK)

Analysis of data from the 1990 National Union Survey showed that organizing effectiveness of unions was enhanced by innovation and diminished by national-level centralization of power. Internal union democracy also enhanced organizing success. (SK)

Shorter working time could boost labor's bargaining power. It would tighten labor markets without the exclusivist results of craft unionism, nativism, racism, and sexism. (Author)

This study provides the first nation-wide analysis of the labor market implications of occupational licensing for the U.S. labor market, using data from a specially designed Gallup survey. We find that in 2006, 29 percent of the workforce was required to hold an occupational license from a government agency, which is a higher percentage than that…

This article examines campaign finance activity in two large school districts: San Francisco, California and Hillsborough County, Florida. Using datasets containing contributions to school board candidates, it explores from whom candidates raise campaign funds. The findings indicate that entities with material interests in school board decisions,…

This article examines moves towards the creation of a Union Learning Rep (ULR) network within Connect, the union for UK communications sector management and professional staff. Focusing on a large communications company (CommCo), the article argues that ULRs need not be limited to campaigning for basic skills training. They also have a role in a…

This article reports that Gary Rhoades, who has spent his entire 22-year career at the University of Arizona studying issues that affect the professoriate, has been named general secretary of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Mr. Rhoades directs Arizona's Center for the Study of Higher Education. Leaders of the AAUP hope…