How Teachers’ Unions Became Political | Policy Briefs

In the 1950s, teachers’ unions were not politically active. Most members believed that they should not engage in political activities beyond voting. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, state governments introduced public sector labor laws that empowered public employees like teachers to collectively bargain with state and local governments. This gave unions the ability to mobilize teachers politically, which has allowed them to shape education policy in the United States.

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Additional Resources:

Watch “Hoover Book Club: How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, And American Education,” an episode of Hoover Book Club. Available here: https://www.hoover.org/events/hoover-....

Watch “Vouchers and Education Reform,” with Terry Moe on PolicyEd. Available here: https://www.policyed.org/lessons-hoov....

Watch “How to Reverse Pandemic-Related Learning Losses,” with Eric Hanushek on PolicyEd. Available here: https://www.policyed.org/policy-stori....

Read “Still the Ones to Beat: Teachers’ Unions and School Board Elections,” by Michael Hartney via Manhattan Institute. Available here: https://manhattan.institute/article/s....

Watch “An Economist Looks at 90: Tom Sowell on Charter Schools and Their Enemies,” with Peter Robinson and Thomas Sowell. Available here: https://www.hoover.org/research/econo....

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