United Teachers Los Angeles supports merit pay “on a cold day in hell”
The Detroit Federation of Teachers shut down city schools to stop 15 charter schools from being built for free
The California Teachers Association has compared school vouchers to child prostitution
The Washington Teachers Union has withheld kids’ college recommendations for parents who didn’t oppose school reform
In Illinois (outside of Chicago), two union-protected teachers out of 95,500 are terminated for incompetence annually
In Illinois (outside of Chicago), it costs $219,504.21 to fire a bad union-protected teacher
In New Jersey, five union-protected teachers out of more than 100,000 are terminated for incompetence annually
In New York State, seventeen union-protected teachers are terminated a year
In New York State, it costs $128,941 to fire a bad union-protected teacher
In New York City, only ten out of 55,000 tenured teachers were terminated in 2006-2007
In Los Angeles, only eleven out of 43,000 union-protected teachers are even considered for termination annually
The National Education Association received $50 million for shaky investment advice in 2004 alone
NEA members are suing over the union’s endorsement of “Valuebuilder,” a plan with over $1 billion of members’ money invested
New York State United Teachers received $3 million for shaky investment advice in 2005
Washington Teachers Union embezzlement tab: $5 million
United Teachers of Dade (Miami) embezzlement tab: $2.5 million
Massachusetts Teachers Association embezzlement tab: $800,000
Michigan teachers unions' embezzlement tab from one thief: $218,000 in bad checks
 

Everyone cares about public schools. Whether it’s through values, taxes, the economy, or labor issues, we all have a stake in public schools, a dog in the fight.

Of course, some dogs are bigger than others.

There is no disputing that America’s teachers unions -- in particular, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- are the most organized and powerful voices in education politics. There are groups of people that care more deeply about public schools (parents, most notably), but they lack the coordination and vast resources that teachers unions have at their disposal.

Above all else, because of their easy identification with educators themselves, teachers unions enjoy a level of credibility with the voting public that any politician would envy. But is this credibility deserved?

According to the New York Times, an international comparison finds that the United States has the worst educational quality per dollar spent on schooling, ranking 18th in reading and 28th in math.

Why are we getting so little for our money?

Since its founding, the Center for Union Facts has collected a wealth of research documenting the impact of teachers unions on our nation’s children, schools, politics, and even teachers themselves. Here are some of our findings:

Teachers Unions Oppose Education Reform

While Americans’ opinions vary widely on education reform measures such as school choice, charter schools, and paying better teachers more money, teachers unions are in comparative lockstep. These unions fight tooth and nail against any meaningful change to their comfortable status quo -- to the detriment of schoolchildren and taxpayers.

Union Contracts Wrap School Districts in Red Tape

Countless studies have documented how unnecessary provisions in union contracts inflate the cost of education. But most parents, reporters, and politicians probably don’t know that those same contracts keep the neediest districts from hiring and retaining the teachers they need most.

Teachers Unions Protect Bad Teachers

Teachers unions defend the practice of granting educators “tenure” after only a few years. Tenure laws help keep bad teachers in the classroom by making it almost impossible to fire them. Few other professions feature this kind of ironclad job security; even some convicted criminals with teacher tenure don’t get fired.

Union Officials Misuse Teachers’ Money

Most teachers unions are exempt from the transparency required of private-sector unions, making embezzlement of members’ dues money especially easy. Many union officials have endorsed costly retirement plans for teachers in exchange for kickbacks. And many dues-paying teachers don’t support the political causes and candidates funded by the union dues they’re forced to pay.

Most teachers are doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances. The overall effect of teachers unions on public education, however -- when lawmakers and voters leave their power unchecked -- is far from positive.

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