ACT 88: THE CHANGING FACE OF IMPASSE RESOLUTION FOR PENNSYLVANIA'S TEACHERS

ERIC C. STOLTENBERG

DOI: 10.2190/EF3J-F2T8-RQB5-0M21

Abstract

Public school teachers, among other public employers, were granted the right to bargain with their employers regarding wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment with the passage of Act 195 in 1970. As a final step in the impasse resolution procedure, teachers were given an unlimited right to strike with the caveat that it could not prevent the state-required 180 days of instruction from being completed by June 30. In the face of public outcry against teachers strikes, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted an amendment to the Public School Code of 1949 by adding Article XI-A, commonly known as Act 88. Act 88, inter alia, replaced the impasse resolution procedures of Act 195 with a structured timetable for mediation, fact finding, and nonbinding final best offer arbitration. To understand the effects of Act 88, its structural differences from Act 195 are presented along with statistical data on the outcomes of teachers' collective bargaining during recent years.

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