Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations

¶ … collective bargaining and labor relations from the standpoint of teacher quality, it is easy to see that there are multiple issues being faced by both sides of the argument. Teachers are not the only people facing issues regarding collective bargaining agreements, however. Many others who serve the public are seeing similar difficulties. Most notably, there was a work schedule issue with police officers in New Jersey. The work schedule was changed for a particular division without any discussion or agreement from that division, which was in violation of several clauses in the union's contract (Defillippo, 2009). The argument from the Chief who had changed the schedule was that it was done to meet a need for more officers on particular shifts and was allowed under the current contract's guidelines because it was for the good of the public. Naturally, that argument was not acceptable to those whose schedules had been arbitrarily changed. They fought back, and the case moved forward into arbitration (Defillippo, 2009).

The issue with this is similar to the issues that are faced by teachers. While their work schedule is usually not significantly adjusted, there are many ways in which their working conditions, pay, and other factors are addressed and changed - often without any kind of consent on their part. When these kinds of decisions are made with no discussion, the collective bargaining and labor relations negotiations are severely derailed. That happens because it becomes clear that there is no desire on the part of the employer to work with the employees and the union to find a solution that is acceptable to everyone involved (Kearney, 2001). Another significant factor in the derailing of relations between employers and unions comes when there is no communication between the two sides. These two issues are very closely related, and can happen almost simultaneously, but they can also be separate issues that must be dealt with in their own right in order to protect everyone who is involved in the negotiations and whose needs must be met for a peaceful resolution.

The goal of collective bargaining is to improve teacher quality. However, that is not always the end result. One of the main problems is that the duty to bargain and the good-faith obligation to engage in bargaining are sometimes ignored by the union and/or by the employer. It would be in the best interest of everyone if the union and the employer would work together (Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). When these two sides work together and in good faith, much more is accomplished in the way of helping teachers be successful and ensuring that the most qualified teachers remain in the classrooms. Otherwise, some of the best teachers move on because they are able to get what they want and need elsewhere (Pynes & Lafferty, 1993). Even in a tight economy, there is a need for teachers in many school systems. Why should they remain where they are not appreciated, when there are other unions and other employers who will clearly take better care of them?