Unions

Read more about labor groups that organize teachers and other educators around workplace issues and negotiate contracts with districts
A kindergarten teacher works one-on-one with a student during a small-group math activity.
A kindergarten teacher works one-on-one with a student during a small-group math activity.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Teaching Profession Data Average Teacher Pay Increased Again This Year—Sort of. See How Your State Fared
Inflation is taking a bite out of teachers' paychecks, according to new state-by-state salary data.
Jennifer Vilcarino, May 7, 2025
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3 min read
Sarah Hinger (center), deputy director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, takes questions from reporters after oral arguments in a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire seeking to block the Trump administration from requiring public schools to end DEI programs on April 17, 2025.
Sarah Hinger (center), deputy director of the ACLU racial justice program, takes questions from reporters after oral arguments in a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire seeking to block the Trump administration from requiring public schools to end DEI programs on April 17, 2025. Two federal judges on Thursday issued orders limiting the Trump administration's ability to enforce its anti-DEI directives to schools and colleges.
Courtesy of Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin
Law & Courts Trump Can't Enforce Anti-DEI Directives in Schools, 3 Judges Say
Three judges, including two Trump appointees, said the administration had overstepped its authority in its efforts to rid schools of DEI.
Matthew Stone, April 24, 2025
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7 min read
Kim Anderson, the executive director of the National Education Association (NEA), speaks during a demonstration at the headquarters of the Department of Education, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington.
Kim Anderson, the executive director of the National Education Association, speaks during a demonstration at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on March 14, 2025, in Washington. The NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have both filed lawsuits seeking to block President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the Education Department.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts NEA, AFT Sue to Block Trump’s Education Department Dismantling
The nation’s two largest teachers’ unions are asking federal courts to halt efforts to close the U.S. Department of Education.
Brooke Schultz, March 24, 2025
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4 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, left, greets Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., before President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, left, greets Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., before President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The National Education Association and ACLU are suing the U.S. Department of Education over its letter seeking to end race-based programming in schools.
Ben Curtis/AP
Law & Courts Nation's Largest Teachers' Union Sues Education Department Over DEI Threats
It's the second lawsuit to challenge the guidance that seeks to end diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools.
Brooke Schultz, March 5, 2025
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4 min read
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is reviewing federal agencies’ data systems, which includes personal information.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Teachers’ Union Sues Over Sensitive Data Accessed by Elon Musk's DOGE
The American Federation of Teachers and others allege that three federal agencies improperly disclosed sensitive information.
Lauraine Langreo, February 12, 2025
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4 min read
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
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