In this episode of Disunion: The Government Union Report, host David Osborne is joined by J.C. Bowman, Executive Director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, to explore a groundbreaking model of public sector labor relations: collaborative conferencing. Bowman explains how Tennessee moved away from adversarial collective bargaining toward a more cooperative, teacher-driven process that empowers educators while avoiding exclusive representation and political entanglements.

They discuss how the model works in practice, its bipartisan origins, the role of multiple organizations at the table, and why it might serve as a blueprint for reform in other states like Pennsylvania. With stories from the field and a clear-eyed view of the pitfalls of adversarial labor relations, this conversation offers a compelling case for a new path forward in teacher representation.