Current Perspectives on Teacher Unionization, and What They’re Missing

Abstract

Educational policy research on teacher unionization in the United States has been dominated by two theoretical perspectives: rent-seeking and teacher voice. While bringing valuable insights to bear, these views have mutated into rigid and often ideologically charged alternatives with strong normative claims about teacher collective bargaining. Drawing from a political economy framework, this article advances a distinct theoretical perspective focusing on the progressive coalition building activities of teachers’ unions (i.e., organizing and mobilizing to promote the interests of working people in policymaking). This perspective resolves previous theoretical anomalies of union behavior; provides many new avenues for research; and highlights distinct considerations for the practice of teacher organizing.

Teachers of Color and Precarious Work: The Inequality of Job Security

“…In fact, an ontological view of precarity complicates our understanding of unionization and the collective power of union organizations, which, on one hand, seek to subvert and disrupt neoliberal and market-based reforms, but continue to grapple with race and racism as a means to reduce inequality. Still, the 2012 and 2019 Chicago teacher strikes (Lyon 2022) and other localized organizing in Philadelphia, Oakland, and Los Angeles (Ramos 2022) offer inspiration for future efforts seeking to prioritize racial and social justice and challenge the racial politics of advocacy through coalitional power and radical union leadership. Developing this dual strategy of grassroots teacher organizing and mobilization, alongside strong alliances with other social and labor movements, more directly challenges precarious work and the living conditions that render ToC more vulnerable to political and economic insecurity.…”

“…Even as other social movements coalesced around race, gender, and antiimmigrant rhetoric (i.e., the immigrant-rights movement, Black Lives Matter, Me Too (#metoo), and the International Women's Strike), there were discursive struggles within various #RedforEd movements to "speak up" and "fight back" against multiple forms of oppression (Carrillo 2021). This was a significant departure from previous strikes spearheaded by Black educators (e.g., the 2012/2019 Chicago teacher strike) and teacher activist groups in Oakland and Los Angeles (Blanc and Eidlin 2021;Dyke 2020;Ramos 2022), and elsewhere (e.g., the Caucus of Rank and File Educators in Chicago, IL and the Movement of Rank and File Educators in New York) that coupled messages of social and racial justice with traditional concerns like school budgets and working conditions (Lyon 2022). Drawing on a longer history, Hale (2018) also asserted that the #RedforEd movement was divorced from Black southern teacher activism and collective action.…”

“…Notably, the effects of the district's “Renaissance 2010” initiative, which included turnaround efforts and the closure of over 80 public schools serving majority Black and Latinx communities, culminated in the 2012 strike for educational equity (Lipman 2013a, 2013b). More recently, the 2019 strike, similarly spearheaded by key militant Black teachers within the Chicago Teachers Union, waged a concerted social justice agenda to demand smaller class sizes, guarantee adequate staffing of Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel, and provide wraparound services for students with economic need (Lyon 2022). Despite these efforts, however, some suggest the devaluation of unions and the loss of teacher employment protections across all school sectors in the U.S. and other countries have discouraged potential candidates from entering the profession or have motivated exit as many no longer view teaching as a relatively low-risk, stable, and lifelong profession (Fitzgerald et al 2019; Kirk 2019; Lincove, Barrett, and Strunk 2018).…”

“…This was a significant departure from previous strikes spearheaded by Black educators (e.g., the 2012/2019 Chicago teacher strike) and teacher activist groups in Oakland and Los Angeles (Blanc and Eidlin 2021; Dyke 2020; Ramos 2022), and elsewhere (e.g., the Caucus of Rank and File Educators in Chicago, IL and the Movement of Rank and File Educators in New York) that coupled messages of social and racial justice with traditional concerns like school budgets and working conditions (Lyon 2022). Drawing on a longer history, Hale (2018) also asserted that the #RedforEd movement was divorced from Black southern teacher activism and collective action.…”

The Effect of Right to Work Laws on Union Membership and School Resources: Evidence from 1942–2017

“…RTW increases the relative cost of membership, so unions may feel more of a need to prove their value to their members to keep them. On the other hand, unions may look outward to strengthen their power via collective action in coalitions with other broad-based groups (e.g., other labor unions and other groups that represent middle- and working-class people; Lyon, 2022). In this case, unions may engage in more lobbying for a broader set of policies that represent the interests of other groups in their coalition.…”