My End of the Bargain: Exploring the Influence of Spatial Relationships and Institutional Bargaining Structures on the Provisions in Collective Bargaining Agreements

• In Event: Teacher Labor Market, Distribution, and Retention

Abstract

A large literature on teacher collective bargaining describes the potential influence of provisions in teacher union contracts, but little is known about the determinants of these provisions. Using a unique dataset of every active teacher collective bargaining agreement in Washington State, we estimate each district’s “restrictiveness.” We then estimate spatial lag models to explore the relationship between the restrictiveness of a bargained contract in one district and the restrictiveness of contracts in nearby districts. Employing various measures of geographic and institutional proximity we find that “institutional bargaining structures”: Education Service Districts (ESDs), which support school districts, and Uniserv councils, which aid local teachers’ unions, play a major role in determining bargaining outcomes.

Authors

• Lesley Lavery, Macalester College

• Dan Goldhaber, University of Washington

• Roddy Theobald, University of Washington