Teachers and Their Unions

""In Teachers and Their Unions: Labor Relations in Uncertain Times, Todd DeMitchell and his contributing authors have skillfully addressed the tangled maze of issues pertaining to professionalism and unionism in education. Particularly enlightening is the discussion of why the industrial union model of ""us versus them"" is not appropriate in school settings. This book is a must read for scholars, policy makers, and practitioners interested in the political and legal history, current status, and possible future of teachers' unions in our nation."" --Martha McCarthy, Presidential Professor, Loyola Marymount University; Chancellor's Professor Emeritus, Indiana University; Past President of the Education Law Association ""Teacher unions have played an important role in the shaping of public education over the last half century and are largely responsible for the gains teachers have made in wages and working conditions. Nevertheless, collective bargaining in the schools is similar to collective bargaining in the industrial sector, which forces teachers to assume two sometimes conflicting roles: professional educator and union member. Professor DeMitchell's book traces the history of unionization among teachers in the United States and analyzes the ongoing political and legal challenges to the collective-bargaining model in the schools. His book is an important contribution to the literature on collective bargaining in the public sector and is a must read for anyone interested in labor relations and education policy."" --William Richard Fossey, Paul Burdin Endowed Professor of Education, University of Louisiana at Lafayette ""This work is invaluable in labor relations, struggles within public education, and advocating for teachers' rights. Moreover, it is a dialogical tool for providing clarity of knowledge about teacher unions and collective bargaining. This book serves as a practical guide for improving labor relations among educators (Han, 2019). Such a holistic approach provides an understanding of unseen politics within the teaching profession (Martínez, 2020). The book demands a metaphorical public amphitheater to echo how policies and practices are dealt with by unions within public schools and districts. Moreover, it is vital for the public to be conscious of how unions continue to be the avant garde of such struggles. Altogether, the book is organized with an introduction, four sections, and subsequent chapter(s) for each one."" --Journal of Labor and Society