Ethnic Power and the Public Schools: The New York City School Strike of 1968.

The New York City school strike was more a struggle between ethnic communities than a labor-management dispute. Once the strike began, educational issues were displaced by ethnic power concerns. The pro-union forces attempted to close the schools while the pro-community control forces attempted to keep them open. Over the system as a whole, the probability of success for both sides was largely a function of the ethnic character of the neighborhood and the school. White ethnics exerted their influence within the school system while Blacks were most effective in working through the neighborhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]