teachers unions and management partnerships: how working together improves student achievement

8212019 Teachers Unions and Management Partnerships How Working Together Improves Student Achievement

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Teachers Unions andManagement PartnershipsHow Working Together Improves Student Achievement

By Saul A Rubinstein and John E McCarthy March 2014


httpslidepdfcomreaderfullteachers-unions-and-management-partnerships-how-working-together-improves 228



Teachers Unions andManagement PartnershipsHow Working Together

Improves Student Achievement






1 Introduction and summary

5 Union-management partnerships

and organizational performance

9 How partnerships affect communication

networks and student performance

15 Recommendations and conclusion

17 About the authors

19 Endnotes

Contents





Introduction and summary | wwwamericanprogress

Introduction and summary

For more han a decade he debae over public school reorm has creaed ricion

beween eachers unions adminisraors school boards parens policymakers

and oher sakeholders in public educaion and has ueled disagreemens over

how o improve he qualiy o eaching and learning or children While many

acors make consensus elusive when i comes o school reorm a key obsacle o

finding agreemen around educaional improvemens and bringing such improve-

mens o ruiion is ideological policy divisions1

Ye wihin some disrics and schools union leaders and school adminisraors

have ound an alernae pah o reorm991252one ha is based on building srong rela-

ionships ha aciliae collaboraion among educaors and is ocused on each-

ing qualiy and educaional improvemen or sudens Tis repor explores he

impac o school-level union-managemen insiuional parnerships on eacher

collaboraion and suden perormance Moreover i offers srong evidence or

his alernaive direcion o he policy debae on public school reorm by analyz-

ing he role o union-managemen relaions in educaional qualiy

ess can reveal deficiencies in suden knowledge bu can offer litle more

beyond alering parens and eachers o a problem Union-managemen parner-

ships because hey are problem ocused can ake he criical nex seps and help

drive hinking abou ways o increase suden learning Tese ypes o parner-

ships are designed o use collaboraion among educaors o find soluions o gaps

in suden achievemen and hen effecively implemen hose soluions because

hose closes o he problem991252wih aci knowledge o i991252are key sakeholders

in he improvemen process

An earlier repor or he Cener or American Progress ldquoReorming Public SchoolSysems hrough Susained Union-Managemen Collaboraionrdquo2 examined cases

o school reorm ha resuled rom collaboraive parnerships beween each-

ers unions and adminisraors working ogeher in innovaive ways o improve



2 Center for American Progress | Teacher s Unions and Managem ent Partners hips

eaching qualiy and suden perormance Ta repor analyzed hese cases o

ideniy he common elemens ha all disrics wih long-erm union-manage-

men parnerships shared in common Tis curren repor looks deeper ino hese

parnerships o examine he paterns o collaboraion ha occur wihin schools

beween eachers and adminisraors o see how hey affec suden perormance

Tis repor akes an organizaional perspecive looking a schools as sysems andexamining school governance paterns o communicaion and collaboraion

eacher paricipaion in decision making and indusrial relaions Paricular iner-

es is paid o he way eachers work wih each oher and how union represenaives

work wih principals a he school level

Tis laes sudy finds ha

bull Formal partnerships help improve student performance Te qualiy o ormal

parnerships beween eachers unions adminisraors and eachers a he school

level is a significan predicor o suden perormance as well as perormanceimprovemen afer povery and school ype are aken ino accoun

bull Partnerships lead to more extensive communication between teachers Higher-qualiy school-level eacher-adminisraor parnerships prediced more

exensive school-level collaboraion and communicaion around suden-

perormance daa curriculum developmen cross-subjec inegraion or grade-

o-grade inegraion sharing advising or learning abou insrucional pracices

and giving or receiving ormal or inormal menoring

bull More extensive communication improves student performance More exen-

sive communicaions around suden-perormance daa curriculum and ine-

graion insrucional pracice and menoring all prediced large and significan

gains in suden perormance or perormance improvemen

bull Partnership leads to more frequent and i nformal communication between

union representatives and principals Finally he qualiy o parnerships

prediced differen communicaion paterns beween union building represen-

aives and principals wih he communicaion in high-parnership schools

becoming more requen and less ormal han he communicaion in low-parnership schools




Tis sudy conribues o our undersanding o he value ha union-managemen

parnerships can bring o organizaional perormance by creaing a posiive climae

or eacher collaboraion which leads o innovaion and an inrasrucure or prob-

lem solving Over he pas decade educaion researchers have encouraged greaer

levels o proessional collaboraion among eachers as a means o improve suden

achievemen3

However litle is currenly known abou he insiuional aneced-ens o proessional collaboraion paricularly in he conex o public educaion

Tis repor arges school-level union-managemen parnerships as poenial caa-

lyss or proessional collaboraion in public schools

Furhermore his research sheds ligh on he impac ha school-level union-man-

agemen parnerships and eacher collaboraion can have on suden perormance

Based on he findings o his repor i policymakers and educaors wan o creae

and suppor more long-erm parnership arrangemens in US school disrics

hey should underake he ollowing iniiaives

bull Provide incenives or disrics o esablish union-managemen parnerships and

collaboraive approaches o he developmen o curriculum and insrucional prac-

ice eacher evaluaion proessional developmen menoring and peer review

bull Provide echnical and financial suppor o disrics ha are willing o pilo par-

nerships and innovaive collaboraive approaches o improving eaching qualiy

and suden perormance

bull Build learning neworks o proessional educaors across disrics wih exensive

experience in parnerships and collaboraive approaches o school improvemen

and link hem wih inexperienced disrics ha are looking or bes-pracice

models and suppor

bull Creae sae-level insiuions o offer leadership raining and skill developmen

in union-managemen parnerships and collaboraion

bull Convene sae and regional conerences o highligh bes-pracice parnerships and

collaboraive approaches o school improvemen and provide echnical assisance

bull Suppor research on collaboraive school reorm effors ha have produced

resuls and share he findings widely

As unions eachers and adminisraors coninue o see he value o collaboraion

and deepen heir work ogeher on he design and implemenaion o our educa-

ion sysems eaching and learning can be more effecive and efficien






Union-management partnerships and organizational per formance | wwwamericanprogress

Union-management partnerships


Research across a wide variey o indusries has long esablished ha as employees

are increasingly included in managerial planning problem solving and decision

making perormance and produciviy increases4 Tis increase in perormance

and produciviy resuls rom direcing more resources oward improvemen

effors culivaing soluions rom employees who are closes o he problems

using beter inormaion o aid in he decision-making process increasing effor

and moivaion and providing greaer suppor or he implemenaion o deci-

sions o hose involved in making hem Tis sudy exends hese ideas o publicschool reorm An earlier CAP repor on his issue ound ha schools ha sus-

ained high-qualiy union-managemen parnerships developed a culure o col-

laboraion hese schools also esablished organizaional srucures ha allowed

or greaer levels o eacher inpu ino planning problem solving and decision

making5 Tis repor builds on hose earlier findings by invesigaing wheher

hose schools wih sronger parnerships also have higher levels o perormance

and perormance improvemen

Partnerships and communication networks

Communicaions heory ells us ha he srucure and patern o relaionships

beween organizaional members will have an impac on heir behavior and

decisions Work sysems ha are more collaboraive break down hierarchies

and increase horizonal communicaion inormaion and knowledge sharing

and innovaion Tis resuls in greaer responsiveness and flexibiliy paricularly

in knowledge-inensive work6 Neworks wihin organizaions are increasingly

imporan or coordinaing work when inormaion is dispersed and when flex-

ibiliy responsiveness and problem solving are imporan or improving peror-mance7 Tis is rue across a variey o indusries For example nurses and docors

need o share inormaion abou paiens in hospials and eams o workers need

o come ogeher o solve qualiy problems in seel or auomobile manuacuring




Applying his ramework o public schools he auhors projec ha improved edu-

caional qualiy will resul rom praciioners analyzing suden perormance and

making adjusmens o curriculum and insrucional pracice o improve learning8

Tis however is no simply he work o individual eachers working alone bu

raher he resul o eachers ineracing wih one anoher and wih adminisra-

ors991252he social nework wihin schools Tis requires he inpu cooperaionand coordinaion o eachers and adminisraors across classrooms and depar-

mens In essence i requires an exensive communicaions nework ha osers

educaional effeciveness991252his is reerred o as he ldquodensiyrdquo o a communicaions

nework When here is requen and exensive communicaion beween each-

ers and wih adminisraors he nework is considered dense Furhermore he

srucure and characer o he social nework inside a school can be shaped by he

relaionship beween managemen and he union9

Te earlier CAP repor sudied union-managemen parnerships in six school

disrics across he Unied Saes in order o deermine how deep collaboraionis creaed and susained10 Te repor idenified a unique se o common charac-

erisics across hese disrics ha allowed hem o change union-managemen

relaionships and oser collaboraion beween eachers and adminisraors

a he school level In he case o he ABC Unified School Disric991252Aresia

Bloomfield and Carmenia991252in Souhern Caliornia ha is he basis or research

in his repor he union-managemen relaionship has osered a parnership ha

emphasizes shared responsibiliy or decision making and school improvemen

Tis sudy shows ha schools wih higher levels o union-managemen parner-

ship also have higher levels o communicaion and collaboraion Moreover

schools wih higher levels o collaboraion also have higher levels o suden

perormance and perormance improvemen

Partnerships and union-management relations

Earlier research has shown ha union-managemen parnerships can lead o

undamenal changes in union srucure and he srucure o union-managemen

communicaion11 Tereore schools wih sronger union-managemen parner-

ships are likely o have more exensive communicaions neworks and exhibidifferen paterns o collaboraion beween principals and school union represen-

aives In schools where union leaders and principals alk requenly and inor-

mally abou eaching and learning perormance is likely o improve Schools wih

srong union-managemen parnerships should have beter suden oucomes han

schools wihou good parnerships




Furhermore as local unions aciliae communicaion hrough heir role in par-

nerships wih managemen hey help creae remendous value in he school by

engendering a greaer level o employee rus in collaboraion han managemen

can creae on is own eachers are more willing o engage in collaboraive sruc-

ures and processes because hey have greaer rus in heir eleced union leaders

han hey do in managemen12

Tis repor ocuses specifically on he paterns o collaboraion beween eachers

and adminisraors ha ake place under union-managemen parnership arrange-

mens and heir relaionship o suden perormance Social-nework analysis is

used o look wihin public schools in order o examine changes in he paterns o

collaboraion and suden perormance ha occur in schools ha have developed

srong eacher-adminisraion parnering arrangemens Social-nework analysis

allows researchers o measure he srucure o relaionships beween eachers

and principals raher han simply individual atribues or atiudes Oher sudies

have applied social-nework analysis echniques o public schools o analyze hesepaterns empirically bu he auhors o his sudy are no aware o any previous

research ha has examined he links beween school reorm union-managemen

parnership arrangemens school-level collaboraion and suden perormance13

The research setting for this study was the ABC Unified School Dis-

trict which is 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles Over the past two

decades a partnership has been sustained between the teachers

union or the ABC Federation of Teachers and the districtrsquos adminis-

tration that has resulted in extensive collaboration and innovation

around instructional programs curriculum development textbook

selection and adoption recruiting and hiring of administrators and

teachers mentoring teacher evaluation and support and data-

based decision making to improve student performance This study

used surveys interviews student-performance data and social-net-

work analysis which analyzes the communication patterns within

and across organizations to examine the impact of this partnershipon school-level teacher collaboration student performance and the

structure of union-management relations The district employs more

than 1100 educators serving almost 21000 students and includes

30 schools of which 19 are elementary schools five are middle

schools five are high schools and one school is an adult school

that offers remedial education and career development for old

students Fourteen of the schools are Title I schools meaning t

have high percentages of children from low-income families a

receive federal funds to ensure these students receive extra su

Also 25 percent of the districtrsquos students are English language

ers or ELL and as with many urban school districts in the Uni

States a high percentage of the students are financially disadv

tagedmdashroughly 455 percent are eligible for the reduced-price

free lunch program Yet the district has consistently scored abo

the state average for the California Academic Performance Ind

API and has exceeded API targets for comparable districts set

state The API is a composite of tests and other measures that astudent achievement to be compared across schools and distr

Four of the districtrsquos schools were removed from the study sam

because of either demographic peculiarities or low response r

Therefore the sample used for this analysis consisted of 26 sch

which together employ roughly 900 teachers

Research setting






How partnerships affect communication networks and student performance | wwwamericanprogress

How partnerships affect

communication networks

and student performance

The overarching question that drove this investigation was whether

union-management partnerships influence how educators in a

particular school collaborate and communicate and how this affects

student performance Thus a way was needed to determine the level

of partnership in a school This was accomplished by measuring the

quality of union-management partnerships using three questions

from a district-wide survey administered in January 2011 that dealt

with union-management communications collaboration among

staff and openness to input from all educators Schools that had

higher partnership-quality measures were schools where there was

more union-management communications where teachers exhibited

more collaboration and where there were greater opportunities for

teachers to have voice in decision making

In a social-network survey conducted in April 2011 the researchers

asked teachers and administrators with whom they communicatedand specifically if those communications were for the following

purposes to discuss student-performance data to discuss curriculum

development and cross-subject integration and articulation to share

advise and learn about instructional practices and to give or receive

formal and informal mentoring The overall response rate to the

survey was 69 percent Those data allowed for a detailed examination

of the communications network among educators

To determine the level of communication and collaboration in a

school the authors calculated ldquodensityrdquo which is the fraction of exist-

ing ties between educators in a school out of the total number of ties

possible in the school To determine a schoolrsquos density of communi-

cations the authors measured the number of educators in a school

who were in communication with one another They also calcu

the total number of possible ties between educators in a schoo

based on the total number of educators employed there Final

authors determined the actual proportion of communications

that existed in relation to the total number of possible ties In t

study therefore the higher the density value the more educat

school reported communicating with others in their building

There was also interest in assessing the structure of school-leve

union-management partnershipsmdashspecifically how frequentl

school-building union representatives reported communicatin

their principals and whether this communication relationship w

primarily formal or informal To measure the frequency of com

cation union representatives were asked to indicate their com

cation patterns with their principalsmdashspecifically whether the

munications with their principals occurred daily weekly montnot at all Representatives were also asked to indicate whether

communications with their principals occurred formally inform

both formally and informally

As mentioned above the authors also looked at student achi

ment to determine if stronger partnerships were related to hi

achievement They used the California Academic Performance

or API as a composite performance measure that reflects stud

achievement in a variety of assessments including the Califo

Standards Tests or CSTs the California Alternate Performance

Assessment or CAPA the California Modified Assessment and

for high school students the California High School Exit Exam

tion or CAHSEE Graduation and drop-out rates are also facto

Methods for analyzing social networks and school and student performance



10 Center for American Progress | Teachers Unio ns and Managem ent Partners hips

Partnerships lead to greater student achievement

Tis invesigaion o union-managemen parnerships showed ha sudens achieve

more when hey atend schools wih sronger parnerships When comparingschools on he parnership-qualiy survey scale o one o our a one-poin increase

in parnership qualiy in 2011 corresponded wih roughly 25 more poins in a

schoolrsquos API score in 2012 afer conrolling or povery Furhermore parnership

qualiy in 2011 has a posiive and saisically significan associaion wih peror-

mance improvemen rom he 2011 o 2012 school year For insance a one-poin

increase in parnership qualiy in 2011 corresponded o roughly a 15-poin increase

in suden achievemen as measured by API scores rom 2011 o 2012 afer con-

rolling or he previous yearrsquos API score and povery (see Figure 1 below)

Furhermore i was deermined ha srong parnerships can improve suden

learning even in schools wih many disadvanaged sudens On is own povery

has a negaive and saisically significan associaion wih API scores in 2011

and improvemen rom 2011 o 2012 Tis shows ha school-perormance ou-

comes are impaced by he socioeconomic saus o he school communiy Since

his sudy conrolled or povery however i was also demonsraed ha hose

schools where managemen and unions have buil srong parnerships are more

likely o have higher achievemen han similar schools wih comparable povery

raes bu wihou parnerships

For purposes o illusraion he graph below racks parnership qualiy agains

perormance improvemen or he 26 schools in his sudy API improvemen

scores ranged rom -18 poins o 58 poins Te graph shows ha as he qualiy

o parnerships increases so does improvemen o suden perormance Tese

resuls are saisically significan

into the scores State officials in California have used API

scores as a primary means to monitor and rank the relative

performance of schools and school districts and publicize

district- and school-level scores which they report online14

API scores range from 200 to 1000 This study examined API

performance or the overall API score a school received for the2011-12 school year as well as API performance improvement

which represents the overall change in a schoolrsquos API score

from the 2010-11 school year to the 2011-12 school year

The authors of this report also took into account variation in

communication patterns by school typemdashelementary middle

and high schoolmdashas well as the level of poverty in each school

by controlling for these differences when they measured therelationship between the strength of union-management part-

nerships collaboration and student achievement



How partnerships affect communication networks and student performance | wwwamericanprogresso

Figure 1 shows he associaion beween par-

nership qualiy and suden-achievemen gains

conrolling or povery in each school

Te auhors also examined he relaionship

beween parnership qualiy and densiy oeachers communicaion in schools Tey

ound ha parnership qualiy was relaed o

he amoun o eacher communicaion around

our opics suden-perormance daa curricu-

lum developmen cross-subjec inegraion or

grade-o-grade inegraion sharing advising

and learning abou insrucional pracices and

giving or receiving ormal or inormal menor-

ing Since he patern was he same across all

our opics he auhors averaged hem ogeherin he bar char below o illusrae he relaion-

ship (see Figure 2) Te char shows ha he

schools wih he highes levels o parnership

had on average almos wice he communi-

caion densiy99125230 percen991252han did he

schools wih he lowes levels o parner-

ship99125217 percen Tese findings srongly

sugges ha high-parnership schools are char-

acerized by more widespread collaboraion

hroughou he school as a whole

In examining he relaionship beween hese

school communicaion densiies and suden

achievemen using he API suden-peror-

mance measure i was ound ha schools wih

denser communicaions around hese same

our opics991252suden perormance curriculum

insrucional pracices and menoring991252had

higher API perormance scores and greaerimprovemen in scores rom he 2010-11

school year o he 2011-12 school year Te differences beween schools wih

higher- and lower-densiy communicaions were saisically significan For

example using he averages rom he bar char above (see Figure 2) a school wih

a communicaion densiy measure o 17 percen would have an API perormance

Low partnership quality High partnership q

L e s s i m p r o v e m e n t

M o r e i m p r o v e m e n t

FIGURE 1

Partnership quality and student performance 2011 to 2

Association between partnership quality and student achievement

gains controlling for poverty in each school

Source Authorsrsquo calculations

S t u d e n t - p e r f o r m a n c e i m p r o v e m e n t 2 0 1 1 t o 2 0 1 2

Partnership quality

0 5 10 15 20 25

School communications density

Percentage of teachers with regular communication ties to each other

Low partnership(lower third)

High partnership(upper third)

17


FIGURE 2

Density of school communications




score 9 poins lower han a school wih a 30 percen densiy mea-

sure Tis shows ha increases in he densiy o school-level com-

municaions around hese opics improve suden perormance

Looking at changes in principal and unioncommunications

Tis sudy also ound ha here was a relaionship beween par-

nership qualiy and he requency o communicaion beween

union school-building represenaives and principals Te higher

he parnership qualiy he greaer he chance ha principals and

union represenaives have requen communicaion In addiion

in schools wih high parnership qualiy hese communicaions

are more inormal han in schools wih low parnership qualiy

Figures 3 and 4 illusrae he relaionship beween he communi-

caion requency and ormaliy o union school-building repre-

senaives and principals

As shown in Figure 3 high-parnership schools are characer-

ized by more requen communicaions beween principals and

union school-building represenaives991252occurring daily and

weekly991252compared o low-parnership schools where hese

communicaions are more likely o be less requen occurring

weekly or monhly

Figure 4 illusraes ha he communicaions beween principals

and union school-building represenaives in high-parnership

schools are boh ormal and inormal while in low-parnership

schools hese communicaions end o be more ormal From

hese findings he sudy concluded ha here is a srucural

difference in he union-managemen relaions in schools wih

sronger parnerships compared o he relaions in schools wih

weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3

Communication frequencies between

principals and union school-building

representatives by high- and

low-partnership schools

High-partnership schools

Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0

Low-partnership schools

15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly

High-partnership schools fell in the top half for partnership quality

low-partnership schools fell in the bottom half



25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4

Communication formality between










What union-management partnerships mean

for school collaboration and student performance

Te resuls o his sudy show ha he qualiy o union-managemen parnerships

beween eachers and adminisraors a he school level has had an imporan and

significan associaion wih educaor collaboraion and suden achievemen as well as greaer achievemen gains rom one year o he nex When parnerships

are sronger school-level collaboraion is higher and so is suden perormance

While povery remains a key predicor o suden achievemen he daa sugges

ha suden perormance can be improved by insiuional union-managemen

parnerships and he increased school-level collaboraion ha resuls rom hem

Noneheless he effec o povery on suden achievemen canno be ignored ye

some o he organizaional soluions sudied here ocus atenion on wha eachers

and adminisraors can uniquely do in high-povery schools o improve learning

Tese findings are imporan because hey direc atenion beyond he evalua-ion o individual eachers o he qualiy o he insiuional relaionship beween

he eachers union is members and he adminisraion Tis research demon-

sraes ha unions can ake a leading role in school reorm by parnering wih

adminisraors o improve eaching and learning in a dramaic way Te degree o

which unions and managemen help creae and mainain hese parnerships adds

remendous value o school disrics seeking o improve and susain high levels o

suden achievemen

Furhermore he resuls o his sudy show ha higher-qualiy union-manage-

men parnerships predic greaer levels o communicaion among educaors

when i comes o he ollowing

bull Evaluaing suden-perormance daa

bull Developing curriculum cross-subjec inegraion and grade-o-grade inegraion

bull Sharing advising and learning abou insrucional pracices

bull Giving and receiving menoring




In urn he densiy o communicaion around hese areas was a significan predic-

or o suden perormance and perormance improvemen in API scores Tese

resuls provide evidence ha srong union-managemen parnerships a he school

level help creae an environmen and srucure or denser aculy communicaion

and ha his communicaion improves eaching qualiy and hereore suden

perormance

In schools wih higher-qualiy union-managemen parnerships union leaders a

he building level had srucurally differen paterns o communicaion wih heir

principals han did building-level union leaders in schools wih lower-qualiy

parnerships Tis mean ha here was more requen and less ormal communi-

caion in he high-parnership schools Tese daa sugges ha srong parnerships

enhance communicaion by creaing a school climae in which union represena-

ives and principals are more comorable alking o each oher requenly and

inormally991252seeking each oher ou o alk raher han waiing or ormal saff

meeings o do so Tis kind o communicaion allows union leaders and princi-pals he abiliy o plan and work ogeher and i gives hem he opporuniy o

resolve issues beore hey become larger problems



Recommendations and conclusion | wwwamericanprogresso

Recommendations and conclusion

Tis research suggess ha union-managemen parnerships can significanly

improve collaboraion in schools and suden perormance More sudies need o

be done o confirm hese resuls991252and more schools and more disrics includ-

ing hose wihou parnership arrangemens need o be examined While school

reorm policy iniiaives such as charer schools and eacher evaluaions based

on suden es scores have received a grea deal o suppor research o dae has

no shown ha on average hese approaches improve suden perormance in a

consisen and sysemaic way In conras he research presened in his repor builds a srong case or effors o expand collaboraive parnerships as a vehicle

or school reorm and improvemen ha can direcly impac suden perormance

However i is unlikely ha collaboraive school reorm can be susained or insi-

uionalized wihou widespread suppor rom sae and ederal policy I policy-

makers and educaors wan o creae and suppor more long-erm parnership

arrangemens in US school disrics he auhors sugges he ollowing iniiaives


collaboraive approaches o developing curriculum and insrucional pracice

eacher evaluaion proessional developmen menoring and peer review

School reorm mus no be jus op down ways mus be ound o build upon

suppor and culivae local disric innovaion as well Research on union-man-

agemen parnerships and collaboraive reorm in he US seel indusry in he

1990s or example showed ha he mos effecive innovaions benefied rom

policies and conrac language ha enabled innovaion raher han polices and

conrac language ha were overly prescripive15 Te lesson or public school

reorm is ha innovaion around collaboraive parnerships should be devel-

oped locally around he needs and culures o local school disrics and local

unions wih suppor rom he sae and ederal levels

bull Provide grans o disrics ha are willing o pilo parnerships and innova-

ive collaboraive approaches o improving eaching qualiy and suden

perormance




bull Build dense learning neworks o proessional educaors across disrics wih

exensive experience in parnerships and collaboraive approaches o reorm


models and suppor

bullCreae sae-level insiuions o offer leadership raining and skill developmenin parnerships and collaboraive managemen Tese insiuions can build

capaciy aciliae organizaional change and innovaion and provide muli-

sakeholder oversigh o school reorm innovaion and regulaion

bull Convene sae and regional conerences o highligh bes-pracice parnerships

and collaboraive approaches o school improvemen and provide echnical

assisance across disrics

bull Suppor research on collaboraive school reorm innovaion ha produces


Te auhors hope his sudy encourages more research on he impac o insiu-

ional union-managemen parnerships on eacher collaboraion eaching qualiy

and suden perormance and ha i conribues in some way o broadening he

debae on effecive approaches o public school reorm A his momen i is hard

o imagine more imporan prioriies or our economy and sociey



About the authors | wwwamericanprogresso

About the authors

Saul A Rubinstein holds a docorae rom he Massachusets Insiue o

echnology and a maserrsquos degree in educaion and a maserrsquos degree in busi-

ness adminisraion rom Harvard Universiy A proessor a he School o

Managemen and Labor Relaions a Rugers Universiy he is also he direcoro he Program on Collaboraive School Reorm His research has ocused on

changes in firm governance managemen and local unions ha have resuled

rom join union-managemen effors o ransorm indusrial relaions work

sysems and perormance in a wide variey o indusries His work exends o

union-managemen parnerships a he sraegic level and sudying he changes in

paterns o coordinaion and communicaion as organizaions adop eam-based

work srucures His curren research has ocused on union-managemen collab-

oraive effors o reorm public educaion and he impac o hese parnerships on

suden perormance His work has been widely published and unded by he Bill

and Melinda Gaes Foundaion he Naional Science Foundaion he Alred PSloan Foundaion and he Rober Wood Johnson Foundaion

John E McCarthy is a docoral candidae a he School o Managemen and Labor

Relaions a Rugers Universiy and is a visiing scholar and Norhrop Grumman

research ellow a he Wharon Business School a he Universiy o Pennsylvania

His research appears in leading journals including Personnel Psychology he British

Journal of Industrial Relations and Advances in Industrial amp Labor Relations and

has been unded by he US Deparmen o Labor and he Bill and Melinda Gaes

Foundaion




Acknowledgements

Tis repor has benefied rom he suppor o many people Te auhors wan

o hank ABC Unified School Disric and he ABC Federaion o eachers or

he exraordinary access ha made his sudy possible In paricular hey wan

o hank Dr Mary Sieu Ray Gaer Dr Carol Hansen Dr Valencia Mayfield DrCheryl Bodger Richard Saldana Ruben Mancillas JoAnn Goosree Laura Rico

and Dr Gary Smus or heir help guidance and insigh Tey also hank Tomas

Kochan Fris Pil Charles Heckscher Doug Kruse Fran Lawrence and Kahy

Buzad or heir houghul commens and suggesions on earlier drafs o his

paper Finally hey are graeul o he lae Casey Ichniowski or his generosiy and

advice Te Bill and Melinda Gaes Foundaion provided unding or his research



Endnotes | wwwamericanprogresso

Endnotes

1 Fra nk Bruni ldquoTeachers on the DefensiverdquoThe New YorkTimes August 18 2012 p SR1 available at httpwwwnytimescom20120819opinionsundaybruni-teachers-on-the-defensivehtml_r=0 ArthurLevine ldquoThe Plight of the Teachersrsquo Unionsrdquo EducationWeek May 8 2013 p 36 available at httpwww

edweekorgewarticles2013050830levine_eph32html Andrew J Rotherham and Jane HannawayldquoFive myths about teachers unionsrdquo The WashingtonPost September 14 2012 available at httpwwwwashingtonpostcomopinionsfive-myths-about-teachers-unions201209144753244e-fdbc-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_storyhtml

2 Saul A Rubinstein and John E McCarthy ldquoReformingPublic School Systems through Sustained Union-Management Collaborationrdquo (Washington Centerfor American Progress 2011) available at httpwwwamericanprogressorgissueseducationreport201107139976reforming-public-school-systems-through-sustained-union-management-collaboration

3 Richard Dufour and Robert Eaker Professional LearningCommunities at Work Best Practices for Enhancing Stu-

dent Achievement (Bloomington IN Solution Tree Press1998) Richard DuFour Robert Eaker and RebeccaDuFour Revisiting Professional Learning Communitiesat Work New Insights for Improving Schools (Blooming-ton IN Solution Tree Press 2008) Yvonne L GoddardRoger D Goddard and Meghan Tschannen-MoranldquoA Theoretical and Empirical I nvestigation of TeacherCollaboration for School Improvement and StudentAchievement in Public Elementary Schoolsrdquo The Teach-ers College Record 109 (4) (2007) 877ndash896 Carrie RLeana and Frits K Pil ldquoSocial Capital and OrganizationalPerformance Evidence from Urban Public SchoolsrdquoOrganization Science 17 (3) (2006) 353ndash366

4 Richard B Freeman and Joel Rogers What Workers Want (Ithaca NY Cornell University Press 1999) David Levineand Laura DrsquoAndrea Tyson ldquoParticipation Productivityand the Firmrsquos Environmentrdquo In Alan S Blinder ed Pay-ing for Productivity (Washington Brookings Institution

1990) Bruce E Kaufman ldquoThe Employee ParticipationRepresentation Gap An Assessment and ProposedSolutionrdquo University of Pennsylvania Journal of Laborand Employment Law 3 (3) (2001) 491ndash550 John PaulMacDuffie ldquoHuman Resource Bundles and Manufactur-ing Performance Organizational Logic and FlexibleProduction Systems in the World Auto Industryrdquo Indus-trial and Labor Relations Review 48 (2) (1995) 197ndash221Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt The New American Workplace Transforming Work Systems in theUnited States (Ithaca NY Cornell University Press 1994)Saul A Rubinstein and Thomas A Kochan Learningfrom Saturn Possibilities for Corporate Governance andEmployee Relations (Ithaca NY ILR Press 2001) Saul ARubinstein Michael Bennett and Thomas Kochan ldquoTheSaturn Partnership Co-Management and the Reinven-tion of the Local Un ionrdquo In Bruce Kaufman and MorrisKleiner eds Employee Representation Alternatives andFuture Directions (Madison WI IRRA Press 1993)

5 Rubinstein and McCarthy ldquoReforming Public SchoolSystems through Sustained Union-Management Col-laborationrdquo

6 Eric Trist ldquoThe Evolution of Socio-Technical SystemsA Conceptual Frameworkrdquo In Andrew H Van de Venand William Joyce eds Perspectives on OrganizationalDesign and Behaviour (New York Wiley Interscience1981) Haruo Shimada and John Paul MacDuffieldquoIndustrial Relations and lsquoHumanwarersquordquo Working Paper

1855-87 (Cambridge MA MIT Sloan School of Manage-ment 1986) John Paul MacDuffie and John KrafcikldquoIntegrating Technology and Human Resources forHigh Performance Manufacturing Evidence from theInternational Auto Industryrdquo In Thomas Kochan andMichael Useem eds Transforming Organizations (NewYork Oxford University Press 1992)

7 Saul A Rubinstein ldquoUnions as Value-Adding NetworksPossibilities for the Future of US Unionismrdquo Journal ofLabor Research 22 (3) (2001) 581ndash598

8 Leana and Pil ldquoSocial Capital and Organizational Perfor-mancerdquo

9 Saul A Rubinstein ldquoThe Impact of Co-Management onQuality Performance The Case of the Saturn Corpora-tionrdquo Industrial and Labor Relations Review 53 (2) (2000)197ndash218 Saul A Rubinstein ldquoA Different Kind of Union

Balancing Co-Management and RepresentationrdquoIndus-trial Relations 40 (2) (2001) 163ndash203 Saul A RubinsteinldquoPartnerships of steel Forging high involvement worksystems in the US steel industry a view from the localunionsrdquo Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations 12(2003) 115ndash144 Rubinstein and Kochan ldquoLearningfrom Saturnrdquo Saul A Rubinstein and Adrienne A EatonldquoThe effects of h igh-involvement work systems onemployee and union-management communicationsnetworksrdquo Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations 16(2009) 109ndash135


11 Rubinstein ldquoA Different Kind of Union Balancing Co-Management and Representationrdquo Saul A RubinsteinldquoThe Local Union Revisited New Voices from the Front

Linesrdquo Industrial Relations 40 (3) (2001) 405ndash435 SusanC Eaton Saul A Rubinstein and Robert B McKersieldquoBuilding and Sustaining Labor-Management Partner-ships Recent Experiences in the USrdquo Advances in Indus-trial and Labor Relations 13 (2004) 139ndash159 AdrienneEaton and Saul A R ubinstein ldquoTracking Local UnionsInvolved in Managerial Decision-MakingrdquoLabor Studies Journal 31 (2) (2006) 1ndash30

12 Rubinstein and Kochan ldquoLearning from SaturnrdquoRubinstein ldquoThe Impact of Co-Management on QualityPerformancerdquo Rubinstein ldquoA Different Kind of UnionBalancing Co-Management and Representationrdquo

13 Carrie R Leana and Frits K Pil ldquoApplying organizationalresearch to public school reform The effects of teacherhuman and social capital on student performancerdquo The Academy of Management Journal Archive 52 (6) (2009)1101ndash1124

14 California Department of Education ldquoAcademic Perfor-mance Index (API)rdquo available at httpwwwcdecagovtaacap (last accessed March 2014)

15 Rubinstein ldquoPartnerships of Steelrdquo






| wwwamericanprogresso



The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute

dedicated to promoting a strong just and free America that ensures opportunity

for all We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to

these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values

We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and

international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that

is ldquoof the people by the people and for the peoplerdquo



















19 Endnotes

Contents







































































achievemen3


















models and suppor



































































































































Research setting
















































































































































FIGURE 1






Partnership quality

0 5 10 15 20 25





17


FIGURE 2
























weekly or monhly








weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3






Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0


15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly





25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4





























suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes











































































































achievemen3


















models and suppor



































































































































Research setting
















































































































































FIGURE 1






Partnership quality

0 5 10 15 20 25





17


FIGURE 2
























weekly or monhly








weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3






Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0


15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly





25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4





























suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes






























































































































































Research setting
















































































































































FIGURE 1






Partnership quality

0 5 10 15 20 25





17


FIGURE 2
























weekly or monhly








weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3






Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0


15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly





25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4





























suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes




















































































































































































FIGURE 1






Partnership quality

0 5 10 15 20 25





17


FIGURE 2
























weekly or monhly








weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3






Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0


15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly





25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4





























suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes



























































weekly or monhly








weaker parnerships

FIGURE 3






Daily 58

Weekly 42

Monthly 0


15Daily

54Weekly

31Monthly





25 Formal

0 Informal

75Both


Formal 0

Informal 8

Both 92

FIGURE 4





























suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes


























































suden achievemen
















perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes













































perormance










































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes




































































perormance







models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes











































models and suppor

















About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes








































About the authors




















Foundaion




Acknowledgements













Endnotes








































Acknowledgements













Endnotes








































Endnotes





































teachers unions and management partnerships: how working together improves student achievement

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