Public Sector Bargaining Labor Relations

Public Sector Bargaining Labor relations are continually changing. The initial labor force construction was fragile and discriminated against by factory owners. Today however, the labor force is protected by legislations and changing features within the market (such as globalization or increasing levels of competition). The changes in labor relations are observed not only at the level of the private sector, but also within the public sectors, and in all possible sectors. At this stage, emphasis is placed on the role of unions and their impact upon the students.

Dan Goldhaber considers both sides of the argument. On the one hand, there is the perception that teachers' unions represent "impediments to educational reform an improvement." Still, on the other hand, there is the belief that teachers' unions are in fact beneficial for the overall well-being of students as they support educational development for all teachers, students and the overall educational system.

In the setting of this debate, Dan Goldhaber assessed the specialized literature and the sources of these opinions and found that the beliefs previously stated -- both pro and against teachers' unions -- are in fact not substantiated. They are drawn based on inconclusive analyses and reflect the independent, and even manipulated, interpretations of the researchers. "As it turns out, the rhetoric on both sides of this issue rests on rather shaky empirical grounds. Relatively little empirical work directly links unionization and student achievement.

Furthermore, the causal impacts of teachers unions on students are difficult to establish since unions do not arise randomly. Consequently, findings from research that directly links unionization to student outcomes are open to interpretation" (Goldhaber). The findings of Dan Goldhaber seem quite pertinent especially when additional research is conducted within the literature, and as the findings of research linger. Andrew J.

Coulson at the Cato Institute for instance assesses the impact of teachers' unions on education, but places emphasis on wages, demands and political impacts, rather than actual implications for students. Michael F. Lovenheim at the Stanford University found that teachers' unions have little impact on the education system, with the exception of employment among teachers, which is increased by 5 to 9 per cent. Paul E. Pynes and Joan M. Lafferty assess the issue of labor relations and unions from a different stand -- that of the safety concerns.

The two authors found out that most of the labor unions request some sort of membership fee and that the explanation forwarded by the unions to explain these fees is represented by the fact that they require financial resources to efficiently address the needs of the individuals they represent. Pynes and Lafferty took a rather distant approach of the topic and focused on the objective presentation of the various types and contracts of union security provisions.

These included the closed shops -- which are the most rigid type of union security in the private sector --, the union shop, the agency shop, the fair share arrangement and the maintenance of membership (highly rare). Aside from the actual forms of union security provisions, the two authors also discuss the collection of the fees and the prohibition of labor union in some states of the U.S. All in all, the approach taken by Pynes and Lafferty does not leave much room for discussion and interpretation.

It is a cut and clear project, focused on the objective and simplistic presentation.