On July 25, 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the American Federation of Teachers, the first union she addressed after announcing her candidacy for president.
Although Ms. Harris was speaking to a room full of teachers, she did not focus on issues specific to teachers. Rather, he talked about common policies that working people want, such as sick leave and paid family leave. She also spoke about the broader labor movement. “When unions are strong, America is strong,” she said.
At the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, proudly claimed to be a teacher. On Instagram, he described himself as a “member of the teachers union who has been paying dues and carrying a card for years.”
Public school teachers are not often talked about as a major force in national politics. They are not wealthy donors. They rarely hold public office. Many legislators claim to have been “educators,” including law school professors, school fundraisers, and school district superintendents.
But teachers and their unions can have influence in U.S. and global politics. Walz’s candidacy prompts a reexamination of their roles. Whose interests do they represent? Can teachers really speak on behalf of the broader community?
Our view, based on political science research conducted by us and others, is that teachers are one of the most (if not the most) well-organized group in politics today, and It claims to support the economic interests of workers in its politics.
Teacher candidates are on the rise around the world
Tim Walz taught social studies at Mankato West High School in Minnesota for 20 years. When he was a member of Congress, he was one of the few teachers in K-12 public schools. The overwhelming majority of MPs are lawyers and business professionals, most of whom come from high-income families, and a disproportionate number of whom studied at elite educational institutions.
Walz’s candidacy, a high school teacher turned prominent politician, has little clear precedent in the United States. But Walz is by no means unique in the world.
In many developing democracies, from Colombia to Indonesia to India, teachers are a large group of public sector workers organized through strong trade unions. Around the world, teacher candidates are rising politically. For example, Colombia’s teachers’ union has 270,000 members, making it the country’s largest union. Many of the union’s leaders have moved from the union president’s position to the Senate of the Republic.
His 2024 book, Mobilizing Teachers, chronicles the emergence of teachers as a political force in Latin America, which began 30 years ago.
Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo may be best known for his ouster from office in 2022 after attempting to dissolve Congress. But his origins are noteworthy. He rose from a humble elementary school teacher and union leader to president in 2021. Similarly, in Mexico, National Teachers Union leader Alfonso Cepeda Salas became a member of the ruling party’s Senate in 2024.
Teacher unions are not necessarily a force for good governance. In Mexico, it has been widely criticized for corrupt practices aimed at influencing politics, such as giving preferential treatment to teachers who align with a particular political party. But in the 1980s, as teachers in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico took to the streets against military dictatorships and authoritarian rule, Brazil’s teachers’ unions began to push for greater education rights and increased spending on public schools. advocated a wide range of causes.
In the United States, K-12 public teachers do not typically become prominent political candidates. But they emerged as major political actors in a different way in the second half of the 20th century. This was facilitated by economic changes such as automation and globalization, which disrupted the activities of many trade unions, such as manufacturing unions, but left teachers unaffected. Currently, one in five union members are teachers. And teachers overall make up 8% of the U.S. college-educated workforce.
Teachers in the United States, through their unions, are sometimes recruited as political candidates, especially in state and local elections. However, their number is small. For example, in 2018, a record number of teachers voted, but they still only represented 3% of candidates.
Teachers and public interest
Teachers in the United States have faced criticism for opposing reforms such as school choice and tying teacher evaluations to student test scores. Some scholars believe that these reforms could improve the quality of education.
In the United States, there are also concerns about teachers’ strong influence on school board elections and Democratic primaries. Some researchers argue that teachers unions have disproportionate power because they “actively and deliberately engage in electoral campaigns to control their own bosses, the school boards.” ” claims to be from the body. In other words, unlike private sector workers, teachers’ unions use political influence to elect their own bosses.
However, other scholars have shown that the policies pursued by teachers often align with the interests of students. Teachers’ unions have long argued, and often do so, that improved working conditions for teachers mean improved learning conditions for students.
Some states and cities are experiencing severe teacher shortages, and some analysts argue that low teacher pay has made teaching an unattractive profession. These shortfalls not only affect the quality of education but also reflect the economic concerns of America’s middle class. Despite a number of economic studies showing a causal relationship between increased education spending and improved student performance, teacher salaries are increasing, especially when increased funding goes toward teacher salaries. Salaries are stagnant.
Over the past 16 years in the United States, teacher strikes have raised salaries for teachers and other education workers such as janitors, bus drivers, and administrative staff. Teachers also highlighted school quality issues that many parents are concerned about, such as free school meals and more counselors, nurses and psychologists in schools.
The role of teachers in maintaining democracy
Public school teachers are in a unique position to defend democratic institutions, and this is a top concern for many academics going into this election. Teachers are deeply embedded in local communities and habitually organize to coordinate political activities with other local nonprofits and grassroots organizations. We believe they are one of the few middle-class groups that can still resist the growing power of big corporations, mega-donors and media conglomerates.
