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:

      • 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.

 

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: