Teacher Opinions on Unions: A National Survey
Teacher Freedom commissioned a national survey of 2,000 teachers in 22 states to ask what they think about their contract negotiations, benefits, unions, and more. The poll found many interesting results, including:
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- 35 percent of teachers would prefer to negotiate salary and benefits for themselves.
- That number rises to 48 percent for teachers under 35.
- 35 percent of teachers would like the option of a 401(k) retirement plan instead of a pension.
- That number rises to 41 percent for teachers under 35.
- Only 39 percent of teachers agree with the way the union spends their money.
- Nearly 1 in 5 teachers disagree with the policies of their union but don’t want to offend their colleagues by speaking out.
- 35 percent of teachers would prefer to negotiate salary and benefits for themselves.
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Read the full poll results (PDF)
"This survey shows what teachers like me have known along, that there are a significant number of us
that do not agree with everything the union does. Many of us would like the ability to negotiate our own salary and benefits.
The one-size-fits-all contract negotiated by the union treats every single educator the same
without regard to effectiveness or our individual needs or wants.”
– Sean Giloni, 5th grade teacher, California
Education Week, "Should Teachers Be Able to Negotiate Their Own Contracts?" April 22, 2019
Survey Methodology: The survey was sponsored by Teacher Freedom and conducted by Dynata (formerly Survey Sampling International). A sample of 2000 teachers in 22 states were identified and interviewed from March 13 to March 22, 2018. The margin of sampling error for the aggregate results is 2.2%, but is higher for certain subgroups. The survey was conducted in states that permitted agency fees arrangements prior to the Janus v. AFSCME decision.
Download and share survey infographics:
