Union role strong in Finland education
More than 95% of teachers in Finland are unionized, paying 1.2% of their gross salary to support the Trade Union of Education in Finland, OAJ.
The organization aims to influence policies that benefit educators, much as the state's largest teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, does in Wisconsin.
But in Finland, the OAJ negotiates on the national level with employer groups to create 14 universally binding agreements that spell out everything from minimum salaries to working hours for teachers and the length of the school year (currently 190 days).
"We have a philosophy: happy pupil, happy parent, happy teacher," said Nina Lahtinen, development manager for OAJ.
Whereas Wisconsin teachers unions are locked in bitter conflict with Gov. Scott Walker and the
