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:
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 |
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Tier 1 Strongest |
Tier 2 Strong |
Tier 3 Average |
Tier 4 Weak |
Tier 5 Weakest |
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| STATE | OVERALL RANK | STATE | OVERALL RANK | STATE | OVERALL RANK | STATE | OVERALL RANK | STATE | OVERALL RANK |
| Hawaii | 1 | Vermont | 11 | Massachusetts | 21 | Kansas | 32 | Louisiana | 42 |
| Oregon | 2 | Ohio | 12 | Maine | 22 | District of Columbia | 33 | Oklahoma | 43 |
| Montana | 3 | West Virginia | 13 | Maryland | 23 | South Dakota | 34 | Texas | 44 |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | Minnesota | 14 | North Dakota | 24 | Colorado | 35 | Georgia | 45 |
| Rhode Island | 5 | Alaska | 15 | Nevada | 25 | Idaho | 36 | Mississippi | 46 |
| California | 6 | Michigan | 16 | Nebraska | 26 | New Mexico | 37 | Virginia | 47 |
| New Jersey | 7 | Connecticut | 17 | Iowa | 27 | Missouri | 38 | Arkansas | 48 |
| Illinois | 8 | Wisconsin | 18 | Kentucky | 28 | Utah | 39 | South Carolina | 49 |
| New York | 9 | Delaware | 19 | Wyoming | 29 | North Carolina | 40 | Florida | 50 |
| Washington | 10 | Alabama | 20 | New Hampshire | 30 | Tennessee | 41 | Arizona | 51 |
| Indiana | 31 | ||||||||
