FACT-FINDING AS A BARGAINING IMPASSE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE: A NORTH DAKOTA STUDY AND RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW

RICHARD L. HILL, DENNIS C. ZUELKE, RICHARD G. LANDRY, AND DAVID J. HALVER


DOI: 10.2190/FWRH-EDKY-DDHY-0R0D

Abstract

To determine how the consumers of fact finding in North Dakota received the process and how North Dakota fit with national trends as to theory and practice regarding fact finding were the objectives of this study. School personnel who participated in fact-finding hearings in North Dakota over a five-year period through the fall of 1987 were surveyed. The findings indicated that "perfecting amendments" to the state's bargaining law, along with changes in fact-finding practice, were needed. The ambivalence of North Dakota's consumers over the adequacy of fact-finding was comparable to the literature where the weight of the evidence suggested that fact finding became less useful over time to the parties at impasse. Fact-finding may have some utility in public education as an early option in a repertoire of bargaining dispute resolution mechanisms, especially in states where collective bargaining is less comprehensive or newly practiced and the population is small and primarily rural.

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