Across the country, paraprofessionals in cities are primarily Black and Latina women, and they are far more likely than teachers to live in the district and even the school zone where they work. However the percentages of Black teachers in major city school districts across the nation have declined, while the percentages of census-designated…

Right-to-work (RTW) laws neither provide opportunity for gainful employment nor a higher standard of living. In truth, by ending a union's ability to charge administrative fees to employees who benefit from their collectively bargained contract, these laws aim to weaken unions and silence workers. They are designed to help employers, not workers.…

The nation's oldest labor laws give employees the fundamental rights to organize and join a union. An increasing number of graduate student workers across the country are seeking to exercise these rights at the private universities where they work while they pursue their education. During the 2011-2012 school year, 12.1 percent of all graduate…

The recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the "Columbia University"case granting students who serve as teaching or research assistants at private universities the right to unionize dealt a major blow to private higher education as we know it. In a long-anticipated decision, the NLRB ruled that any student who…

Paraeducators perform multiple roles in U.S. classrooms, including among others preparing classroom activities, working with students individually and in small groups, supporting individualized programming for students with disabilities, managing classroom behavior, and engaging with parents and communities. Yet, little research provides insights…

Explores the ways in which public referendums might be used in public employee labor relations. Two judgments are reached: whether the device could actually be implemented in New York City, and whether its use would be in the interest of sound public policy. (Author/IRT)

Analysis of New York's school decentralization law indicates that in the areas of curriculum, budget, personnel, and collective bargaining, central policies and administrative action have frustrated effective local controls. (Author/JF)

Clarifies the history of efforts to decentralize schools in New York City. (JF)

This report describes a two-year project designed to assist local groups engaged in exploring alternatives to traditional modes of teacher contract negotiation. The project aimed to identify and increase effective citizen participation in educational collective bargaining. Chapter 1 of the report focuses on the struggle toward more balanced…

Responsible leaders from all sides of this process should be encouraged by the experiences of New York that efforts to utilize the assistance and aid of responsible unions and their leaders is paramount to survive any fiscal crisis. (Author)

Discusses the role of the United Federation of Teachers in the New York City public schools. Analyzes union activity from a perspective that views the union as a conservative, moderating force which seeks to preserve and strengthen the present bureaucratic government of schools. (Author/GC)

A TYPOLOGY FOR A THEORETICAL APPROACH TO TEACHER-WORK RELATIONSHIPS REGARDS THE SCHOOL AS AN EMPLOYING SYSTEM WITH SETS OF CONTRASTING SYSTEM-WORKER RELATIONSHIPS--(1) FORMAL-PERSONAL OR TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY, (2) DISCRETIONARY-PERSONAL OR PERMISSIVE PERSONALISM, (3) FORMAL-GENERALIZED OR ORGANIZATIONAL FORMALISM, AND (4) DISCRETIONARY-GENERALIZED…

Provides excerpts from the six-part history of the United Federation of Teachers, New York City to show that most of the day-to-day rights and dignities teachers now take for granted once had to be wrested from a reluctant and uncooperative system. Suggests that the struggle to maintain these rights is continuing. (GR)