Transforming Teacher Unions

Fighting for Better Schools and Social Justice

Out of Print

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

ISBN: 9780942961249

This stimulating 144-page anthology looks at exemplary practices of teacher unions from the local to the national level. It challenges the reader, while presenting stirring new visions of teacher unions for the 21st century. The 25 articles weave together issues of teacher unionism, classroom reform, working with local communities, and social justice.

Contributing authors include Howard Zinn, Dan Perlstein, Robert Lowe, Herbert Kohl, Ann Bastian, and many classroom teachers and union activists. Transforming Teacher Unions is a terrific tool for anyone working in or with teacher unions today.

Transforming Teacher Unions shows how unions can lead the way towards a more genuine profession for ourselves, more effective schools for all our students, and a more just society.

-Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association and a vice president of the AFT.

Transforming Teacher Unions  is divided into six main sections. Click on the section heading to jump directly to that section below. Click here to view the TTU Table of Contents in pdf format, or, return to the TTU home page.

Overview

 

Introduction
By Bob Peterson & Michael Charney

 

Survival & Justice: Rethinking Union Strategy
By Bob Peterson

 

A Hard Lesson from History
By Bob Peterson

 

Networking for Union Reform: The Story of TURN
By Barbara Miner

 

A New Vision of Schooling
By the Editors of Rethinking Schools

Promising Practices

 

Raising Professional Standards
By Tom Mooney

 

Teachers as Leaders in Cincinnati
By Monica Solomon

 

A Lead Teacher Speaks Out
An Interview with Diana Porter

 

Unions Can Create a Sense of Hope
By Michael Charney

 

Professionalism in Minneapolis: A New View
By Kris Berggren

 

Minneapolis Contract Excerpt

 

Rochester Teachers Struggle To Take Charge
By Christine E. Murray

 

Rochester Contract Excerpt

 

Don’t Sell Your Members Short
By Adam Urbanski

 

Confronting Racism in British Columbia
By Tom McKenna

 

Staffing & Seniority in Seattle
By Margie Slovan

 

Getting Out the Message

An Interview with Paulette Copeland

 

Milwaukee Contract Excerpt

 

Resisting Resistance to Change
An Interview with Mark Simon

 

Montgomery Co. Contract Excerpt

 

When Collective Bargaining is Prohibited
An Interview with Rukiya Dillahunt

Lessons From History

 

Why Teachers Should Know History
An Interview with Howard Zinn

 

Resources for Teaching Union History

 

Chicago Teachers’ Federation & Its Legacy
By Robert Lowe

 

If Not Now, When?: Teacher Unions in NYC
By Dan Perlstein

 

Facing Tough Decisions
By Herbert Kohl

 

The Prospects for a United Teachers Union

 

What Happened to the NEA/AFT Merger?
By Ann Bastian

 

Principles of Unity for a United Organization
By NEA & AFT

 

The New NEA: Reinventing Teacher Unions
By Bob Chase

 

Whither Public Education?
By Sandra Feldman

Organizing for the Future

 

Defending the Public Sector
An Interview with Bill Fletcher

 

The Strength of the Public Sector
By Bob Chase

 

The Market is Not the Answer
An Interview with Jonathan Kozol

 

A Review of “United Mind Workers”
By Bob Peterson

 

Social Justice Unionism: A Working Draft
By the National Coalition of Education Activists

 

Question & Answers
By Bob Peterson

Resources/Study Guide

 

Resources

 

Organizations & Books

 

Questions for Discussion
By Bob Peterson & Michael Charney

This stimulating 144-page anthology looks at exemplary practices of teacher unions from the local to the national level. It challenges the reader, while presenting stirring new visions of teacher unions for the 21st century. The 25 articles weave together issues of teacher unionism, classroom reform, working with local communities, and social justice.

Contributing authors include Howard Zinn, Dan Perlstein, Robert Lowe, Herbert Kohl, Ann Bastian, and many classroom teachers and union activists. “Transforming Teacher Unions” is a terrific tool for anyone working in or with teacher unions today.

 

Articles include: 

 

Survival and Justice: Rethinking Union Strategy  By Bob Peterson

 

Raising Professional Standards By Tom Mooney

 

A Teacher Leader Speaks Out An Interview with Diana Porter

 

Staffing and Seniority in Seattle By Margie Slovan

 

Resisting Resistance to Change An Interview with Mark Simon

 

Facing Tough Decisions By Herbert Kohl

 

The New NEA: Reinventing Teacher Unions  By Bob Chase

 

Fighting for Better Schools and Social Justice

 

Edited by Bob Peterson and Michael Charney