Monday, October 29, 2012

How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison

How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison:


How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison

Filed under: Teachers
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.

How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions?
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 the state profiles (Click your state to download):

TEACHER UNION STRENGTH BY RANK AND TIER

Tier 1 Strongest

Tier 2 Strong

Tier 3 Average

Tier 4 Weak

Tier 5 Weakest

STATEOVERALL RANKSTATEOVERALL RANKSTATEOVERALL RANKSTATEOVERALL RANKSTATEOVERALL RANK
Hawaii1Vermont11Massachusetts21Kansas32Louisiana42
Oregon2Ohio12Maine22District of Columbia33Oklahoma43
Montana3West Virginia13Maryland23South Dakota34Texas44
Pennsylvania4Minnesota14North Dakota24Colorado35Georgia45
Rhode Island5Alaska15Nevada25Idaho36Mississippi46
California6Michigan16Nebraska26New Mexico37Virginia47
New Jersey7Connecticut17Iowa27Missouri38Arkansas48
Illinois8Wisconsin18Kentucky28Utah39South Carolina49
New York9Delaware19Wyoming29North Carolina40Florida50
Washington10Alabama20New Hampshire30Tennessee41Arizona51
    Indiana31