Not long ago, public education in Ontario, Canada, was in deep trouble. Student achievement was stagnating, labor disruptions were rampant, and public satisfaction with the schools was low. In 2003, a new provincial government initiated a series of reforms that embodied a positive, outcome-focused agenda for public education. Today, student…

During the interwar period, California's labor-intensive agriculture transitioned from reliance on diverse immigrants to preference for Mexicans. Political movements to restrict immigration, the Great Depression, and labor unrest compelled farm employers to search for labor that could be used flexibly and deported easily. To achieve this…

In this article, the author explores these questions--from what position, with what focus, and through what methods can a history be produced that is sensible of the conflicts and passions of its own time, and that can illuminate those of the past?--estimating that the books under review in several ways invite such a demanding reading. Gary…

Of all the recent budget cuts made by the Eagle County, Colorado, school district--the loss of 89 staff jobs through attrition and layoffs, a 1.5 percent across-the-board pay cut, and the introduction of three furlough days--none sparked as much anger or faced the same scrutiny as the decision to cut three foreign-language teaching positions and…

Gov. Scott Walker's sweeping proposal to scale back collective bargaining rights for most public employees in Wisconsin has sparked a rancorous standoff with teachers across the state--and fueled speculation about whether similar plans will gain traction in other parts of the country. But as massive demonstrations played out in Madison--an…

Teachers often embed their labor demands within a broader context to claim high moral ground and build community support. We analyze a recent teachers' strike in Israel, looking at how the strike played out in a country where the challenges of globalization collided with a socialist legacy in the face of an existential threat. The analysis reveals…

At the 1986 Wyoming Conference on English, a group of graduate students and part-time and tenure-line faculty formulated a statement known as the Wyoming Resolution, a rallying cry to improve composition teachers' pay, benefits, and working conditions. Adopted by the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in 1987, the Wyoming…

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about contingent faculty's relations with the profession of English studies in general. (Contains 3 notes.)

Management experts have observed that employment relationship has become contractual, fragile, and short-lived. Downsizings have resulted in some people having far too much work and stress, while increasing numbers have no work at all. As a result, people are taking jobs they do not really want and staying longer in jobs they do not really like.…

Countries in the Arab region are faced with the challenge of developing their populations' skills and technical knowledge, or human capital, in order to compete in the 21st century global economy. The authors describe the education and labor market initiatives implemented or under way in four countries in the Arab region -- Lebanon, Oman, Qatar,…

This report describes the Albert Shanker Institute's activities over the past five years in the areas of education, labor, and democracy. In the area of education, the Institute has sponsored a wide range of forums, seminars, reports, and other activities that highlight the best thinking and solid research on the most effective ways to improve…

Beginning in 1934, representatives of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Association of American Colleges (AAC) met and drafted the definitive statement on academic freedom and tenure. Like the U.S. Constitution, the 1940 "Statement on Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure" was a commendable, if deficient, product…

Research on social movements and public policy has expanded tremendously in recent years, yet little of this work considers the role of movement opponents in the political process or how the movement-countermovement dynamic is influential in contests over policy. This historical study begins to fill this void by analyzing the contestation between…

In recent years, tenure has increasingly come under fire as an anachronism, not only for appearing to be out of touch with modern society but also as protection for the allegedly incompetent. Administrators and governing boards find themselves spending inordinate time defending it. So, in March 2005, the University of Colorado took the…

This article describes when teachers in Detroit, Michigan and Gary, Indiana went on strike in September 2006, which have resulted in the closure or relocation of 35 schools to other campuses since the end of the 2004-05 school year. The 2006-07 school year has brought with it a fresh wave of labor unrest, as teachers in districts large and small…