Governments, teachers unions, and education policy -- Meetings, mailboxes, and mobilization -- Turning out teachers -- Creatures of the state -- Members, money, and maintenance -- Teachers unions in state politics -- Teachers unions in local politics -- Teacher-union power and student achievement -- The resilience of teachers unions -- The scorecard : unions versus reformers.
Summary:
"As most American labor organizations struggle for survival and relevance in the twenty-first century, teacher unions appear to be an exception. Despite being all but nonexistent until the 1960s, these unions are maintaining members, assets-and political influence. As the COVID-19 epidemic has illustrated, today's teachers unions are something greater than mere labor organizations: they are primary influencers of American education policy. How Policies Make Interest Groups examines the rise of these unions to their current place of influence in American politics. Michael Hartney details how state and local governments adopted a new system of labor relations that subsidized--and in turn strengthened--the power of teachers' unions as interest groups in American politics. In doing so, governments created a force in American politics: an entrenched, subsidized machine for membership recruitment, political fundraising, and electoral mobilization efforts that has informed elections and policymaking ever since. Backed by original quantitative research from across the American educational landscape, Hartney shows how American education policymaking and labor relations have combined to create some of the very voter blocs to which it currently answers. How Policies Make Interest Groups is trenchant, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand why some voices in American politics mean more than others"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.