In this paper, we draw upon in-depth interviews with teachers and administrators in 18 unionized charter schools around the country to investigate teachers' motivations for unionization. Our results suggest that while mismanagement and distrust are often the proximate cause of charter unionization efforts, both material and purposive…

In many school districts the policies that regulate personnel are governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school boards. While there is significant policy attention and, in some cases, legislative action that has affected the scope of these agreements, there is relatively little research that…

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…

This case study provides the background for a discussion of the bankruptcy of a composite non-profit corporation under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the possible alternatives available to bankruptcy. Topics considered include: reorganizations, the selection of a bankruptcy trustee or an examiner, duties of a non-profit board, the…

Since 1980, Michigan retirees have been afforded health care benefits for which they were required to pay 10 percent of the premium upon retirement--the remainder was paid for by the state. Recently, the Michigan Legislature reduced the financial obligation of the State for retiree health care benefits, placing it on the individual member. In…

In this paper we consider more than three decades of research on teachers' unions in the United States. Focusing on unions' role in shaping education policy, we argue that collective bargaining and political organizing comprise the two central but distinct forms of influence at the district, state and national levels of decision-making. We note…

Many districts and schools have trouble recruiting and retaining teachers who have the necessary credentials and skills to meet the needs of their students. This trend is particularly severe in low-income, "high-needs" schools and districts. As such, districts and schools are implementing policies that are intended to reform compensation…

Are teachers unions and collective bargaining agreements barriers to high school reform and redesign efforts in Washington, California, and Ohio? The short answer: sometimes, but not as often as many educators seem to think. Rather than wade into the pro- versus anti-union debate, this report instead aims to offer guidance for educators, unions,…

Teachers unions are among the most powerful, yet least studied, actors in public education today. Although public attention focuses on the influence of national unions, the policies that most affect teachers and schooling are bargained by local unions and school boards. Interviews with 30 recently elected local union presidents reveal that these…

The aim of this paper is to review the relevant research on the educational impact of school closures on student learning, provide information on criteria frequently used when closing a school, examine the characteristics of what constitutes a "better school" (i.e., receiving school), and identify strategies that can be used to help…

This publication is the result of an 18-month project that brought together teams from six states--Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas--along with their national organizations in a groundbreaking partnership to identify collective bargaining language and policies that support high-quality professional development.…

Students of American politics have had little to say about public sector unions and their impacts on government. There is, of course, a vast literature on public bureaucracy. But that literature has always emphasized that the power of bureaucrats is rooted in their expertise, or in the entrepreneurial activities of agency leaders. It has largely…

This issue reviews trends in public sector employment (particularly in the light of government policy to reduce it), wages (in a context of cash limits), and strikes and other forms of industrial action. It also considers recent developments in the structure, organization, and policy of the "actors" in public sector industrial relations.…

Principals should be given collective bargaining rights because their working conditions may be worse than teachers'. Without tenure, collective bargaining rights, or even multiyear contracts, principals in Rhode Island and elsewhere are powerless. States with collective bargaining laws extending to principals provide protection against school…

This report is designed to assist school administrators and school boards to prepare for negotiating issues relating to class size. It includes a brief summary of the research on class size, adapted from ERS's report Class Size: A Summary of Research. Viewpoints of both school management leaders and teacher organization leaders on negotiating the…