Dick Lilly at Crosscut reports on a provocative book from a Stanford Professor:
- “The teachers unions have more influence on the public schools than any other group in American society” – more than school boards, state legislators, the federal government or parents.
- As unions properly do, they represent the employment interests of their members – job security (seniority, tenure), working conditions and benefits.
- The power of the teachers unions in serving their members’ interests has largely – but not exclusively – determined how the public schools are organized and how they operate.
- Teachers unions use their power – often through Democratic state and federal legislators – to block public school reforms that threaten their members interests. Thus rapid change in the K-12 system is unlikely, though outside forces may weaken the unions over time.
Terry Moe Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools