Unions

Read more about labor groups that organize teachers and other educators around workplace issues and negotiate contracts with districts
Mary Kay Baum joins hundreds of labor union members at a rally to protest collective bargaining restrictions at the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison, Wis., Aug. 25, 2011. Matthew Ziebarth, a high school social studies teacher in Beaver Dam, joined a lawsuit to overturn the law.
Mary Kay Baum joins hundreds of labor union members at a rally to protest collective bargaining restrictions at the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison, Wis., Aug. 25, 2011. Matthew Ziebarth, a high school social studies teacher in Beaver Dam, joined a lawsuit to overturn the law.
John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Teaching Profession In Their Own Words Why This Teacher Fought Back Against a Law Curbing Teachers' Unions
A high school social studies teacher talks about why he joined the lawsuit against Wisconsin's Act 10.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 18, 2024
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7 min read
Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) vice president Betsy Kippers leads a chant during a rally to protest Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill, at the Brown County Courthouse in downtown Green Bay on February 16, 2011.
Wisconsin Education Association Council Vice President Betsy Kippers leads a chant during a rally to protest then-Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill in downtown Green Bay on Feb. 16, 2011. The law severely restricted the scope of collective bargaining for teachers, but was thrown out by a judge more than a decade later.
H. Marc Larson/The Green Bay Press-Gazette via AP
Teaching Profession Law Restricting Teachers' Unions Falls After More Than a Decade
The Wisconsin law, a poster child for efforts to curb collective bargaining over the past decade, was deemed unconstitutional.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 3, 2024
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4 min read
Final Piece Of The Puzzle. Two people about to shake hands over trading a jigsaw puzzle piece needed for the solution.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Profession Opinion Teacher Contracts Need to Change. And It’s Not Just About Money
If we want to retain effective teaches, we should increase teacher compensation—but we need to do it strategically.
Karen Hawley Miles & David Rosenberg, October 28, 2024
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4 min read
Jennyerin Steele Staats, a special education teacher from Jackson County, W.Va., joins other striking teachers as they demonstrate outside the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Feb. 27.
Jennyerin Steele Staats, a special education teacher from Jackson County, W.Va., joins other striking teachers as they demonstrate outside the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Feb. 27, 2018. New research suggests U.S. teacher strikes have been effective at increasing wages.
Craig Hudson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP
Teaching Profession What the Research Says Do Teacher Strikes Increase Pay?
New research finds the majority of teacher strikes in the last decade did boost wages and benefits.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 30, 2024
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4 min read
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. She alluded to proposals to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education during her acceptance speech.
Gabrielle Lurie/AP
Federal Video WATCH: 5 Key Education Moments From the Democratic National Convention
Calls to end gun violence, Tim Walz's background as a teacher, and Project 2025 all made for key K-12 moments at the 2024 convention.
Libby Stanford, August 23, 2024
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7 min read
The staff organization for the National Education Association strike on Friday, July 5, outside of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The work stoppage, expected to continue through Sunday, effectively halts the representative assembly, which brings together more than 6,000 delegates from across the country to vote on the union’s priorities and budget for the upcoming year. Staff members accuse NEA management of unfair labor practices, including denying holiday pay as the staff works over the Fourth of July to run the annual representative assembly.
The staff organization for the National Education Association strike on Friday, July 5, outside of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. NEA management announced it has reached a tentative agreement with its staff to end a lockout that has continued more than a month.
Brooke Schultz/Education Week
Teaching Profession NEA Reaches Tentative Agreement With Staff Union After Monthlong Lockout
The largest teachers' union and its staff appear to have reached a detente.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 16, 2024
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3 min read
Attendees wait to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris at the American Federation of Teachers conference in Houston on July 25, 2024.
Attendees wait to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris at the American Federation of Teachers convention in Houston on July 25, 2024.
Annie Mulligan for Education Week
Teaching Profession AFT's Assembly Featured Kamala Harris, Debates on the Israel-Hamas War, and More
The gathering of the nation's second-largest teachers' union in Houston came at a pivotal time in the election cycle.
Libby Stanford, July 30, 2024
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6 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the American Federation of Teachers at their annual conference in Houston on July 25, 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the American Federation of Teachers at their annual conference in Houston on July 25, 2024.
Annie Mulligan for Education Week
Federal Video Book Bans and Gun Control: 3 Minutes From Kamala Harris’ Speech to Teachers
Kamala Harris shares her vision for the future of education, and the country.
Jaclyn Borowski, July 25, 2024
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2:51
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the American Federation of Teachers at their annual conference in Houston on July 25, 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the American Federation of Teachers at their convention in Houston on July 25, 2024. Harris spoke to the nation's second largest teachers' union just days after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid and the vice president appeared to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
Annie Mulligan for Education Week
Federal Kamala Harris Rallies Teachers: 'God Knows We Don't Pay You Enough'
Harris called for student loan forgiveness and union member protections in her speech at the American Federation of Teachers' convention.
Libby Stanford, July 25, 2024
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4 min read
A ninth grader places her cellphone in to a phone holder as she enters class at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. At the rural Utah school, there is a strict policy requiring students to check their phones at the door when entering every class. Each classroom has a cellphone storage unit that looks like an over-the-door shoe bag with three dozen smartphone-sized slots.
A 9th grader places her cellphone in a phone holder as she enters class at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. Some educators are hoping for national guidance from the National Education Association on cellphone policies.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Teaching Profession Will the NEA Take a Position on Cellphones in Schools?
Some educators believe a policy statement from the union would give them cover to enforce restrictions that may be unpopular.
Brooke Schultz, July 24, 2024
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4 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. annual convention during the 71st biennial Boule at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The #WinWithBlackWomen network says more than 40,000 Black women joined a Zoom call to support Harris on Sunday, July 21, hours after Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris, and that the meeting was streamed to another 50,000 via other platforms.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. annual convention during the 71st biennial Boule at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The National Education Association will support Vice President Kamala Harris as she begins her bid for the White House.
LM Otero/AP
Teaching Profession The Nation's Largest Teachers' Union Endorses Kamala Harris for President
The National Education Association's endorsement follows that of the American Federation of Teachers.
Brooke Schultz, July 24, 2024
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2 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for President as the presumptive Democratic candidate during an event at West Allis Central High School, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in West Allis, Wis.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns during an event at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wis., on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Harris will speak at the American Federation of Teachers convention on Thursday, July 25.
Kayla Wolf/AP
Federal One of Kamala Harris' First Campaign Speeches Will Be to Teachers
Vice President Kamala Harris will speak to the nation's second-largest teachers' union at its convention in Houston.
Libby Stanford, July 23, 2024
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1 min read
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks at the organization's annual conference in Houston on July 22, 2024.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks at the organization's biennial conference in Houston on July 22, 2024. She called on union members to support Vice President Kamala Harris the day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign.
via AFT Livestream
Federal AFT's Randi Weingarten on Kamala Harris: 'She Has a Record of Fighting for Us'
The union head's call to support Kamala Harris is one sign of Democratic support coalescing around the vice president.
Alyson Klein, July 22, 2024
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5 min read
Illustration of hands shaking with smaller professional people standing on top, with hands in the air, celebrating.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Principals' Unions Are on the Rise. What Are Their Demands?
Across the country, principals are organizing for better working conditions.
Olina Banerji, July 12, 2024
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8 min read
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