Benefits of Teacher Unions
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Benefits of Teacher Unions
Michelle Cotter
Admin 624: Principals as Human Resource Agents
March 5, 2014
Benefits of Teacher Unions
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In the United States today, thirty four states are legally required to have collective
bargaining with teachers, in eleven states it is permissible and up to individual districts, and in
only five states is collective bargaining illegal, this accounts for three fourth of the nations
teachers participating in teacher unions. Outside of the US, countries that are among the top ten
in student performance have the strongest teacher unions in the world. There has always been
much debate over those who are pro teacher unions and those who are anti-unions and fall into
agreement with right to work states. Although the benefits of either side can be debated to no
end, there is substantial research that sides with the thirty four (large majority) of states who
adhere to collective bargaining and, according to Boroughs (2008), are members of the National
Education Association (3.2 million teachers) or The American Federation of Teachers (1.4
million teachers).
The first teacher unions were established to ensure that teachers received decent wages,
hours, and working conditions. The view of unions was to afford teachers job and wage security
(Rosenberg & Silva, 2012). The success of organized teacher unions has led to higher pay,
greater benefits, and a decline in the number of teacher strikes. Unionized districts are shown to
have 10% higher salaries and 30% higher benefits than non unionized districts (Hirsch,
Macpherson, & Winters, 2012). Unions have since changed and along with securing greater
compensation, better working conditions (such as smaller class sizes), and job security, unions
also have an influence over school policy.
According to a teacher opinion survey conducted by Education Sector, which included k12 public school teachers from all over the nation, the role of unions was found to be more
positive than negative. The finding showed strong support among teachers for unions and a
strong belief that unions play an important role in protecting jobs. More than three-fourths of the
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1,100 teachers surveyed felt that without a union, working condition and salaries would suffer.
More than half of the teachers who were not members of a teacher union also agree that unions
protect working conditions and salaries and felt that teachers are more vulnerable without a
union.
Teacher salaries are always a hot topic of debate and negotiating salaries is a major area
where unions come into play. In union states there are constant negotiations and compromises
made by the school board and school district unions, whereas in states without a union, there is
no negotiating of salaries by any representatives of the teachers. Here in Virginia, a non union
state, there are school districts that have not given step increases according to the district pay
scale, this would not occur in a union state. According to an article from The Washington Post,
data, state by state, collected from the National Center for Education Statistics showed that the
top sixteen states, all whom paid above the national average, were unionized states. The five
states, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, and North Carolina, all fell under the national
average ranking 23rd, 30th, 37th, 39th, and 47th respectively.
While there are limited studies to find a link between collective bargaining agreements
and student achievement, there is research that indicates that collective bargaining agreements do
foster improved student learning. This could be due to the fact that contracts now go beyond the
“bread and butter” basics of union contracts to now include issues relative to student
achievement, professional development, and education reform (Burroughs, 2008). In some
contracts professional development is included indicating release time and space for on- going
training and development. In these cases the unions provide materials and trainer for the teacher
continuing education and development. According to an article in Education Policy Brief
(Boroughs, 2008), teachers in unionized states are afforded higher salaries, better benefits, and
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smaller class sizes. All these factors have led to improved teacher quality and student
achievement, as well as, a greater morale among teachers. It was found that unions fostered more
efficient organizations that had greater productivity and fewer turnovers of teachers.
Unions are also important in helping to look out for the interests of teachers and districts
in the political venue. According to Kahlenberg (2012), in the 2010 election, “teacher unions in
twenty-two states were among the top ten donors to governor and other executive positions,
legislative, high court, and elected education positions.” While some may argue that the unions
are only looking out for the teachers’ interests, they are indeed looking out for the students’
interest as that is the interest of the teachers. Unions such as the NEA and AFT support school
choice with a public school system and oppose private vouchers, thus strengthening the public
school system, and favor paying teachers bonuses to attract quality teachers to high poverty and
high need schools (Kahlenberg, 2012).
The pros and cons of teachers’ unions and their impact on teachers, school districts, and
students have been argued for years over and for years to come. Reviewing the research and data
shows high support for the benefits for unions. It should be noted that the only states that prohibit
collective bargaining are in the south in a region that has been historically hostile to extending
democratic citizenship to all Americans (Kahlenberg, 2012), adding to the point that unions are
important to protecting teachers rights. If collective bargaining is so bad for education where are
the above average results in achievement in the south and charter schools who disallow it
(Kahlenberg, 2012)?
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References
Burroughs, N. (2008) Arguments and Evidence: The debate over Collective Bargaining’s Role in
Public Education. Center for Evaluation & Education Policy. 6(8), 1-20.
Hirsch, B. T., Macpherson, D. A., & Winters, J. V. (2012). Teacher Salaries, State Collective
Bargaining Laws, and Union Coverage. Prepared for the “Public Sector Collective
Bargaining” session at the American Economic Association Meetings, San Diego,
January 6, 2013.
Kahlenberg, R.D. (2012). Bipartisan, But Unfounded: The Assault on Teachers’ Unions.
American Educator, Winter 2011-2012, 14-18.
Rosenberg, S. & Silva, E. (2012) Trending Toward Reform: Teachers Speak on Unions and the
Future of the Profession. Retrieved from http://educationsector.org