Key Fact

How Teachers’ Unions Became Political

The laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s allowed unions to mobilize teachers in politics and amass a large political war chest, which has allowed them to shape education policy in the United States.

Related Resources

Watch “Hoover Book Club: How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, And American Education.”

“Vouchers and Education Reform,” with Terry Moe on PolicyEd.

“How to Reverse Pandemic-Related Learning Losses,” with Eric Hanushek.

“Still the Ones to Beat: Teachers’ Unions and School Board Elections,” by Michael Hartney.

“An Economist Looks at 90: Tom Sowell on Charter Schools and Their Enemies,” with Peter Robinson and Thomas Sowell.

Key Fact