Organized Teachers in American Schools

A study of the organizational consequences of teacher collective bargaining in school districts and individual schools, involving the analysis of 150 teacher contracts from a national sample and intensive fieldwork in 15 districts. The report examines trends in the noncompensation aspects of collective bargaining, the factors responsible for these trends, the nature of the negotiations process, institutionalization of contractual provisions, and dependence on past practice and political action as alternatives to collective bargaining. Organized teachers, the study concludes, are increasingly influencing decisions that once were the exclusive prerogative of school management. They have secured contractual gains locally and simultaneously achieved political successes at higher levels of government. Teacher bargaining has also limited the flexibility of school management and increased the cost of public education. At the same time, collective bargaining is solving the longstanding problem of low teacher salaries and protecting them from arbitrary treatment.