Discusses results of teachers' unionism in setting standards for teaching and representing teachers' economic and work conditions interests. Suggests that despite the efforts, teachers are still workers subject to coercion and exploitation. Argues that the profession's boundaries are hard to define and defend, and existing laws do not support the…

Discussion of various factors involved in a shift from professional associations to unionization for librarians; includes arguments for and against. (AP)

Occupational unionism as practiced by waitresses in the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union was characterized by emphasis on occupational identity, control over labor supply, portable rights and benefits, and peer determination of standards and discipline. Aspects of this form of unionism may hold promise for revitalizing the labor…

Discusses benefits of union affiliation and involvement for women teachers, interpreting data from studies that explored the value of unionism to secondary teachers and researched the work and motives of union-active teachers. Women teachers' motives for union involvement and the gendered nature of their experiences regarding unions offer useful…

This study presents econometric estimates of the effects of unionism on productivity in 83 West Virginia coal mines in the early 1920s. Results show that unionism significantly reduced productivity at small mines but not at large mines. The author ascribes this effect to systematic differences between small and large operations in the quality of…

The Australian Federal Government recently amended the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The effect of this amendment, which came into force on 1 January 2006, is to abolish compulsory up-front fees for the funding of student unions. Voluntary student unionism has been a plank of the Liberal (conservative) platform for many years, but its…

Analyzes the likely determinants of a trade union's policy regarding race and estimates the effect of the presence of unionism on the average wage of black workers relative to that of white workers under various types of union organizational structure. (RJ)

Union-management relationships have been filled with fear since the rise of capitalism; public education is no different. Workers fear exploitation by owners (profits depend on it) and capitalist/management has always worried that the working classes will organize and either take over the firm or strike and bring production to a screeching halt.…

Looks at legal cases concerning the uses to which mandatory union dues are put. Considers the variety of approaches adopted in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, and Germany and reviews how compulsory unionism has been treated in the courts in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, and Canada. (JOW)

Why are America's public schools falling so short of the mark in educating the nation's children? Why are they organized in ineffective ways that fly in the face of common sense, to the point that it is virtually impossible to get even the worst teachers out of the classroom? And why, after more than a quarter century of costly education reform,…

Reviews present labor statutes and examines three alternatives to current practices; proposes that teaching, by its nature, is not well administered by industrial standards or well adjudicated through industrial unionism. Suggests "professional unionism" as a means of effecting educational reform. (DR)

Recent data about faculty salaries, promotion, tenure rates, and merit pay are examined to shed new light on the broad influence of unionism in U.S. faculty compensation patterns. A major question posed is whether or not incidence of merit pay declines with the spread of unionism. (MSE)

Implementation of a "master contract" between the Minnesota Community College Faculty Association and the state board has altered relationships between faculty and administrators, promoting animosity and distrust. This article discusses the conflict between union tactics and the traditional character of the academic community. (NHM)

A discussion of two bills, now before the U.S. legislature, to allow state and federal employees, including librarians, to organize and strike. (LS)

The controversy surrounding the meaning of professionalism on American campuses is approached by examining the subject from an historical and trade union perspective. It is contended that faculty unions are compatible with professional needs and desires of faculty. The roots of the American college and university system are examined in conjunction…