Can a teachers' union successfully be both a hardball-playing defender of its rights and a collaborative force for the common good? It is both a question of philosophy and, increasingly, one of policy direction for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), whose biennial convention in Detroit showed delegates grappling with the tension between…

This paper is a response to Academic Senate Resolution 19.05 F11, which called for an update of the 1990 Academic Senate Paper Guidelines for Developing a Faculty Evaluation Process. The current paper presents the position that faculty evaluations should be focused on professional development and on personal and professional growth and should…

Inside every airline magazine is an ad in which Chester L. Karrass insists, "You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate." This suggests that the "art" of negotiation is more important than the substance of any issue under consideration. When it's time to negotiate at the author's college, the faculty union's "professional…

First it was changes to pay, then evaluation systems, and then tenure laws. Now, lawmakers in several states are challenging collective bargaining, the foundation of teacher unionism. Leaders in Idaho, Indiana, and Tennessee are proposing bills that would limit what, if anything, teachers' unions could negotiate. None of the proposals has yet…

Massive protests have been the norm in Wisconsin, since Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a plan to strip many collective bargaining rights from teachers and most other public employees. GOP elected officials are pursuing similar measures in Ohio and other states. But in the DeForest district, like some others around the state, collective bargaining,…

The president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, is putting the sensitive issue of due process on the education reform table, with a pledge to work with districts to streamline the often-cumbersome procedures for dismissing teachers who fail to improve their performance after receiving help and support. She has also…

Outlines special skills necessary in collective bargaining, noting that speech communication faculty may be particularly qualified to serve as grievance representatives. Describes the grievance process at the State University System of Florida to show how communication skills come into play. (PD)

The model presented here is designed to chart the kinds of building level interaction between labor and management that may affect educational policy and programs. Several means of application and the problems associated with the model's theoretical design are discussed. (Author/IRT)

The issues that tend to arise in the process of developing and administering a grievance procedure are discussed and some of the ways these issues have been resolved are described. The "ethos" of an institution may be the most important factor in determining the effectiveness of a faculty grievance procedure. (MLW)

As the most unionized segment of the public sector workforce in the USA, teachers and their bargaining representatives wield significant power in the world of educational labour relations and beyond. Yet, just as the First Amendment's freedom of association clause affords unions the right to exist, its concomitant recognition that employees are…

Discusses types of grievances in American industrial relations, their costs, and ways of resolving them. Accompanying tables indicate the frequency of different categories of grievances and resolutions. (Author/WD)

Some generalizations from experiences at Eastern Michigan University of the grievance process include: the importance of recordkeeping, training personnel to handle grievances, and solving problems internally rather than taking them to arbitration. (MLW)

The California State Mediation and Conciliation Service, a state agency, has conducted approximately 150 mediations per year in public schools. Describes the use of grievance mediation in resolving disputes between California public school systems and their unions. (MLF)

The Ashtabula County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in Ohio has developed an alternative to arbitration. The local conciliation committee, composed of representatives of both management and labor, plus a nonvoting, objective adviser, is a third level in the grievance procedure. Benefits include resolution of conflicts…

Describes the grievance-arbitration process for collective bargaining used in the Connecticut State University System, consisting of a grievance-arbitration panel of administration and faculty representatives. The process, the final step before professional arbitration, is used for faculty. However, it could be adopted for bargaining units…