13 Pros and Cons of Teachers Unions

2154

Share on Facebook

Tweet on Twitter

Unions have protected workers since the 18th century. When the Industrial Revolution
brought new workers into factories, their working conditions or rate of pay were not
necessarily appropriate for what their job responsibilities happened to be. The formation of a
union helped to keep conditions safer while promoting higher wages.

From this effort came the formation of public-sector labor unions, which began to form in the
late 19th century to protect government employees and public-sector workers. By the 1920s,
public school teachers began forming teachers’ unions to protect their best interests as well.

To look at the pros and cons of teachers’ unions, we must explore the intricacies of public
sector unionization.

What Are the Pros of Teachers Unions?

LIST OF PROS OF TEACHERS UNIONS

1. Protects Teachers

The main reason these unions are good is for the fact that they protect teachers. Teachers
have a very difficult job. Unions ensure they can carry out their necessary work without any
threat of being kicked out of their positions. One of the biggest reasons why teachers unions
help teachers is the feature of tenure. Tenure is something very unique to the teaching
profession; essentially, tenure protects teachers from ever getting fired after a certain amount
of time.
2. Keeps Teachers Unified

Another reason why unions are so critical is the fact that they keep teachers unified. Because
teachers are responsible for educating our nation’s children, it’s very critical that they stay
unified. If our teachers and the education system as a whole are divided, it can threaten how
effectively these individuals are able to do their jobs. When they’re divided, they won’t be
able to focus on the curriculum, which if the most important aspect of being a teacher.

1. It protects teachers from political changes.

When the politics of a community or state change, education tends to be a popular department
to address. In the last generation, teachers have seen efforts to tie their salaries to testing
performance, curriculum changes, and other potentially negative impacts to their job head in
their direction because of political changes. Teachers’ unions help to lessen the impacts that
do occur, providing a buffer that allows each teacher to continue teaching.

2. It creates the possibility of tenure.

Tenure is a misunderstood concept in the world of public education. It is often viewed as
giving a teacher a “job for life,” but that is rarely the case. Tenure is a resource which allows
teachers, after a probationary period, to have guaranteed due process rights as part of their
employment. It protects teachers from favoritism so they can continue teaching their students.
In the US, it takes an average of 3 years for a public-school teacher to earn tenure.

3. It creates unification.
People working together can create change faster and better than people working apart from
one another. By working together in a teachers’ union, each teacher can advocate for their
own classroom and district while being able to support students at state or national levels
simultaneously. It is an effective way to let teachers have a positive influence on the public
education that children can receive.

4. Schools with high levels of unionization tend to perform better.

Countries that have 100% unionization levels in their schools, such as Finland and Singapore,
produce better results for their students than schools in the United States. In the US, states
with high unionization levels, such as Maryland and New York, tend to perform better than
states that have low unionization levels, such as Louisiana or Mississippi. The Washington
Post reports that out of the 10 non-union states in the US, only Virginia has an average rank
above the media for education. 7 of the 10 states are in the bottom 15 for performance.

5. Teachers can have a voice on policy.

Teachers’ unions allow individual teachers to be an advocate for higher education spending.
It gives them a voice in policy decisions that would normally exclude their input, but demand
their compliance. It is the teacher who is in the classroom every day full-time, not the
administrator or the politician. Their front-line experience, when put into policy, can help
children learn effectively.

6. Union fees are often tax deductible.

Although there is a cost to joining a union and those fees can add up for substitute or casual
teachers, those fees are tax deductible. Unions also provide discounts at certain shops, health
providers, and restaurants that can help make up the cost of the fees as well.

What Are the Cons of Teachers Unions?

1. Actions by unions can reduce educational opportunities for children.

One method that is commonly used or discussed by teachers’ unions to negotiate contracts or
CBAs is to threaten a strike. Most districts will only threaten a 1-day strike, as Seattle and
Chicago have done in the past, which means educational opportunities for children are
threatened. Using children as a negotiation tool has its own set of ethical and moral
considerations that must be individually addressed.

2. It can lock districts into bad contracts over long periods.

For a collective bargaining agreement to be effective, both sides must send skilled negotiators
to be part of the process of contract negotiation. Failing to do so can result in a bad contract
for one side or the other that may be in effect for several years. That can mean poor-quality
teachers may not be able to be removed or teachers could receive below-market wages in the
district for an extended period.

3. The emphasis of the school changes.

Instead of emphasizing educational opportunities, teachers’ unions are part of a process that
changes the school into an economic opportunity. Children shouldn’t be caught in the
struggle between teachers and administrators who want resources in specific places.
4. Unions may funnel funds to places that teachers do not support.
Some teachers’ unions will support political candidates financially or lobby for a specific
cause. They’re able to do so because of the contributions that teachers must make to the
union for the representation that is received. If an individual teacher doesn’t support the
candidate that the union supports, they typically have no say in where their money is spent.
Some states have passed laws which restrict this spending in the US, but it is a common
complaint for teachers and many other public-sector employees.

5. It creates a funding cycle that leaves taxpayers out of the equation.

Teachers often receive salary support from property taxes and other public resources that are
distributed by the government. The government negotiates a salary with the teachers, who
then have unions which advocate for the government officials. It creates a cycle where each
group benefits the other, but at the expense of the average taxpayer.

6. It can be costly to remove a bad teacher.

Even when contracts allow for a bad teacher to be removed from the classroom, the process
can be costly for the school district. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Terry Moe, a
professor of political science at Stanford, said that it takes an average of $200,000 to remove
just one poor teacher and up to 2 years of time to do so.

7. There can be a lack of union presence in the work place.

In the average school, a teacher might see a union sign in the break room or tucked away on a
bulletin board somewhere, but that’s about it. There’s only so much a union can do for a
teacher and disputes can be a lengthy process.

The pros and cons of teachers’ unions will likely continue to be a passionate debate. When
statistics are controlled for poverty, the US has one of the best educational systems in the
world. Because of that fact, perhaps our first priority should be to reduce poverty in our
communities before worrying about the structure of a teacher’s contract or a union’s potential
political influence.

LIST OF CONS OF TEACHERS UNIONS

1. Prevent Quality Control

The main reason why teachers unions are a problem is the fact that they promote bad levels
of quality control. This is a big problem because if there are bad teachers, they can’t be fired.
Unions blindly defend their colleagues, and with teachers unions, they are especially virulent
in their defense for one another.

2. Turn Education into a Business

Education should be purely about teaching rather than worrying about money. Unions often
prevent education from being the primary objective, and instead, turn the system into a tug-
of-war between teachers and educational administrators.

Overall, there are many pros and cons to this policy, but as a whole, it’s important to consider
the consequences before implementing unions, whether they be for teachers or any other
industry.