William Kritsonis, School Law, Ch 5 Personnel Issues

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William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
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COLLECTIVE BARGIANINGDEFININTION

• Collective bargaining is defined as the
  negotiation between an employer and a union to
  determine the wages, hours and other terms of
  employment for a group of employees with common
  duties and interests and similar pay. The
  collective bargaining agreement will be active
  for a set period of time.

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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN EDUCATION

• The major purpose of collective bargaining in
  education is to develop and nurture those
  educational leadership skills which are germane
  to the understanding and application of
  collective bargaining law.
• The major thrusts are to provide the students
  with a conceptual base from which they can exert
  educational leadership, develop those technical
  skills necessary to function effectively, and
  identify and foster human skills associated with
  successful contract development and management.

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TEACHER UNIONS/COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

• Background in 1935 Congress passed the National
  Labor Relation Act (Wagner Act) which guarantees
  the right of private employees to form and join
  unions to bargain collectively.
• A wide range of provisions may be negotiated in
  collective bargaining between teachers unions
  and school districts.
• The following are some of the matters that are
  often the subject of bargaining academic
  freedom, curriculum, wages and salaries,
  training, hours, workload, and teaching
  responsibilities, tenure, and probationary
  period, promotion, reappointment personnel files
  etc.
• Constitutional Considerations the First
  Amendment of the Bill Of Rights provides
  Congress shall make no law prohibitingthe right
  of people peaceably to assemble. This right, as
  applied to the states through the Fourteenth
  Amendment of the Constitution, has been
  interpreted to give teachers and other employees
  the right to free association, including the
  right to join a union, such as the National
  Education Association or the American Federation
  of Teachers.

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STATE AND LOCAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING

• The National Labor Relations Act governs labor
  relations in private schools, subject to some
  limitations. A teachers union of a private
  schools should determine whether the NRLA applies
  to its school. State labor statues generally
  govern labor relations between public school
  districts and teachers unions. Collective
  bargaining statues differ considerably from state
  to state, with some states providing much more
  guidance and specific rules than others.

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Forming and Joining A Union To Bargain
Collectively

• Laws governing the representation process are
  often quite complex. This process prefaces the
  collective bargaining process and involves
  numerous considerations, including types of
  employees that will constitute a bargaining
  unit, as well as the selection of an appropriate
  union to represent teachers. In the public
  school sector, state law affects both of these
  determinations. Some states exclude certain
  employees from a bargaining unit, including
  supervisors and individuals in management
  positions.

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BARGAINING UNITS

• Teachers seeking to join for collective
  bargaining must define an appropriate bargaining
  unit. Under most labor relations statues, only
  those individuals who share a community of
  interests may compromise an appropriate
  bargaining unit. Community of interests
  generally means that the teachers have
  substantial mutual interests, including the
  following
• Wages or compensation
• Hours of Work
• Employment benefits
• Supervision
• Qualifications Training and skills
• Job functions
• Contract with other employees
• Integration of work functions with other
  employees
• History of collective bargaining

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ILLINOIS EDUCATIONAL LABOR ACT

• The Illinois Educational Labor Act is an act to
  establish the right of educational employees to
  organize and bargain collectively to define and
  resolve unfair practice disputes and to establish
  the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to
  administer the Act.

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ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET PROCESS

• Collective bargaining is one of the most complex
  areas of school administration. Successful
  experiences in this endeavor involve the ability
  to timely orchestrate a myriad of special skills
  and knowledge. School law, labor law, personal
  administration, human relations, labor relations,
  school finance, community pressures,
  communication skills, and common sense is
  included in this myriad. Access to timely and
  accurate information is also vital to
  successfully completing negotiations. They also
  publish a annual IASA publication to assist in
  the collection of key salary and general contract
  data that can be used in collective bargaining
  planning and decision making.

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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TIGHTROPE

• The collective bargaining process between a board
  of education and a teachers union can have
  wide-ranging effects, not only for board members
  and teachers but also for the community. The
  superintendent, often caught in the middle, must
  put politics aside and focus on doing whats
  right for the students.

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ILLINOIS PROVISIONS GOVERNING COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING

• Illinois Educational employees at all levels
  permitted to bargain under the Illinois
  Educational Labor Relations Act. However,
  several types of employees, including
  supervisors, managers, confidential employees,
  short-term employees, and students, are excluded
  from bargaining by statue. Impasse procedures
  include mediation and fact-finding. Arbitration
  is permitted. Strikes are permitted after
  several conditions set forth in the statue are
  met.