Teachers Unions 101

"The raucous Wisconsin debate over collective bargaining may be ugly at times, but it has been worth it for the splendid public education. For the first time in decades, Americans have been asked to look under the government hood at the causes of runaway spending. What they are discovering is the monopoly power of government unions that have long been on a...

"The Association of American Educators (AAE), the largest, national non-union association for teachers, was pleased to testify in favor of Utah Senate Bill 82, a proposal that would expand current Utah law that allows education associations equal access to schools across the state. AAE Utah Membership Director Charity Smith and AAE members Allyson White and Cole Kelly spoke about the current...

This article discusses the view of the teachers unions on the D.C. scholarship program, which allows low-income students and parents to choose their own school. Despite the added safety that this school choice program offers to children, the unions are advocating for this program to come to an end. Ortega contends that the unions are more concerned about their own...

According to Barro, teachers unions are the culprit of high education costs and lower student achievement. He cites research by Caroline Hoxby, which demonstrates that “unionization is estimated to raise per-pupil spending by about 12 percent,” and “unionization raises the dropout rate by an estimated 2.3 percentage points.” These findings imply that education...

In an attempt to show that teachers unions often force their patrons’ money to go to causes they are opposed to, Patrick Semmens reports on the discovery that large sums of money from teachers unions went to support the recently exposed corrupt ACORN offices. Semmens underscores this idea by saying, "These financial connections between Big Labor and ACORN highlight...

Due to budget problems and teacher cutbacks, parents in a California school district decided to step in and volunteer their time to ensure that their schools continued to function safely and properly. According to this article, however, their help was frowned upon by...

Hess and West describe former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s education plan in this article. A key element of Romney’s plan included the idea of merit pay and other bonuses for successful and hard-working teachers. As with many other plans of this kind, Romney’s education ideas were met with hostility by the teachers unions. This article explains some of the...

This article reflects some of the early sentiments on charter schools and their potential for reforming the public education system. Finn explains that teachers unions “pay lip service to the charter concept but hedge it about with so many conditions and restrictions that any resulting schools will be clones of conventional public schools.” This piece suggests that...

This page shows the top all-time donors to political parties. The two biggest teachers unions, NEA and AFT, donate virtually exclusively to the Democrats.

"The changes would cost union employees an additional $636 per year ($53 per month) for single coverage and $1,560 per year ($130 per month) for family coverage. Even with these changes, state employees would be paying $72 less per year ($6 less per month) for single coverage and $1,379 less per year ($115 less per month) for family coverage than an employee at an...

The above chart describes the results of a Public Agenda poll that asked teachers questions about their involvement with unions. While many are a part of a teacher union, a large majority of current teachers are not actively involved. It would also appear that unions are not overwhelmingly embraced by teachers, for only “46% think of teachers unions as absolutely...

"More than a quarter of Ohio's 614 district school superintendents are drawing full retirement benefits. So are more than half of the 56 county educational service center superintendents. In contrast, only about 12 percent of the total 122,000 retired members of the State Teachers Retirement System are still working in public education."

"Superintendents and other high-paid employees earning at least $100,000 make up less than 2 percent of all rehired-retirees, but their numbers exploded from 19 in 2000-01 to 299 last school year. In addition to the biggest paychecks, this group also gets the highest pension benefits — an average of $80,542 a year."

"We first started running the nearby chart on the trends in public and private union membership many years ago. It documents the great transformation in the American labor movement over the latter decades of the 20th century. A movement once led by workers in private trades and manufacturing evolved into one dominated by public workers at all levels of government...

"In routine tracking of education-related legislation, The Heartland Institute’s School Reform News has uncovered evidence that teachers unions across the country routinely inhibit teachers from joining or speaking out about competing, nonunion teachers associations. In at least one case, this intimidation has resulted in a teacher losing his job. Most of the incidents are smaller. Taken alone...

Sol Stern’s piece on teachers unions describes their liberal political leanings, their powerful lobbying force, and their concern for teacher rights rather than student education. Stern recounts the difficulties that school administrators and teachers are forced to deal with when they go against the grain of the union machine, and implies that the shift in union...

This piece traces the early history of the two largest teachers unions (the NEA and the AFT), and then proceeds to explain the more recent history in which the two unions were almost joined into one. Antonucci describes the remarkable failure to join the two unions, and suggests that this was partially a direct result of the unions’ strong arm techniques on their...

This report takes a look at union-related issues through the eyes of teachers. Although unions are not always enthusiastically endorsed by them, many teachers view unions as their advocates, protecting them against unfair standards, difficult parents and disobedient children. The report also explains that the reasoning behind occasional teacher resistance to merit...

"Even with the changes in the proposed budge repair bill, Wisconsin taxpayers will be very generous to state employees, who will pay less toward their family health insurance premium than most other Midwestern states and the vast majority of large employers in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Wisconsin state employees currently pay less...

"Governor Chris Christie responds to a teacher's question during a town hall meeting at Raritan Township. Discusses the teachers' union and the need for shared sacrifice. September 8, 2010."

In this event hosted by the Commonwealth Foundation, Simon Campbell, President of Stop Teacher Strikes, addresses the correlations between teachers unions and school choice, and Michael Geer, President of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, discusses advancing school choice in Pennsylvania. The recording of the event is divided into seven parts.

This animated video provides a commentary on teachers calling in sick in order to protest against a bill in the Wisconsin state legislature that would cut public workers' pension, health benefits and collective bargaining rights in light of the state's budget woes.

"Stephen Moore and Thea Lee debated the merits of public sector unions. In a mock trial, Ms. Lee, assisted by Professor Shoemaker, defended against a charge that public service employee unions have harmed the country. Mr. Moore prosecuted. They made opening and closing statements and examined witnesses. The jury found against Ms. Lee in a split decision. Jeffrey Verdon presided.

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"Teachers punished for speaking out. Principals fired for trying to do the right thing. Union leaders defending the indefensible. Bureaucrats blocking new charter schools. These are just some of the people we meet in The Cartel. The film also introduces us to teens who can't read, parents desperate for change, and teachers struggling to launch stable...

In this letter, addressed to the President of National Federation of Federal Employees, FDR expresses his belief that "a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have...

Written through the eyes of an experienced teacher, “The aim of this book is to inform and, through informing, better enable teachers, parents, and communities to increase their voices in shaping the education they wish for their children. It does not suggest a magic potion or single cure for the dilemmas that confront American education. But it will examine NEA...

According to this website, "AAE is America's fastest growing national, nonprofit, nonunion teachers' association with members in all 50 states."

Contains various links specifically dealing with issues such as “forced unionism,” the constitutionality of strikes, and other areas in order to address and protest the large amount of teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.