Fordham Institute on States with Most Powerful Teachers Unions

A VERY interesting new study – with a handful of surprises – by the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now (which is affiliated with DFER) on which states have the most powerful teachers unions. Interestingly, in Hawaii, ranked #1 (shouldn’t it be #50?), there’s quite a bit of reform going on – see the slides I sent around after visiting there in August, posted at: www.tilsonfunds.com/Hawaiiedreform.pdf:

Here’s a summary:

This timely study represents the most comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions’ strength ever conducted, ranking all fifty states and the District of Columbia according to the power and influence of their state-level unions. To assess union strength, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now examined thirty-seven different variables across five realms:

The strength of teacher unions in the U.S.

1) Resources and Membership

2) Involvement in Politics

3) Scope of Bargaining

4) State Policies

5) Perceived Influence

The study analyzed factors ranging from union membership and revenue to state bargaining laws to campaign contributions, and included such measures such as the alignment between specific state policies and traditional union interests and a unique stakeholder survey. The report sorts the fifty-one jurisdictions into five tiers, ranking their teacher unions from strongest to weakest and providing in-depth profiles of each. 

Download and read the full study here.