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Erin Woodford Ed.D., is a 2025 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.

Dissertation Committee:

Richard Kahn, Ph.D., Committee Chair
Ryan Kasmier, Ed.D., Committee Member
Laurel Tien, Ph.D., RCC-ACS, R.N., Committee Member

Keywords

collective agreements, collective bargaining, disability, economic justice, education, employment, feminism, labor, leadership, non-regular, precarious, unions, women

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This dissertation examines economic justice and employment precarity faced by educators in both K-12 and post-secondary education systems. While literature explores themes of changing demographics in union membership, collective bargaining, labor activism, and gendered and intersectional inequities in academia, and women in leadership in unions, a critical gap of disabled women’s voices and solutions to the inequities remains. This study highlights how job insecurity, unequal pay, hiring biases, limited recognition of prior learning, and inadequate institutional support exacerbates mental health challenges, professional invisibility, and economic instability. In the K-12 unionized system, systemic barriers such include disregard for substitute teaching as a viable career and challenges for experienced teachers to get hired over cheaper, inexperienced teachers. In post-secondary education, shifting immigration policies, funding cuts, and undervaluation of non-traditional scholarship deepen instability. This research advances equity-focused strategies. By integrating lived experience with structural and systemic critique, the study calls for reforms that prioritize stability, recognition, and inclusive pathways for all educators navigating precarious employment and economic justice. The study contributes to broader conversations on improving women’s engagement and addressing the inequalities inherent in current labor systems. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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ORCID No. 0009-0003-0797-5185

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