The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers lost more than 59,000 working members combined during the 2021-22 school year, according to U.S. Department of Labor disclosure reports.
That decline comes after an 82,000-member loss the previous year.
School district staffing levels were not to blame. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that local schools added 95,000 employees between September 2021 and September 2022. Nor were the membership losses confined to specific areas of the country. Every state affiliate but one that was required to file a disclosure report lost working members.