Pros And Cons Of Teacher Unions

Pro and Cons
Unions

Introduction
The effect of teacher unions on school reform is a controversial in the world of education. A teachers union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals. America consists of two main teachers unions; the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. “The National Education Association, the nation 's largest professional employees organization, it has more than three million members that work at every level of education, from pre-school to university graduate programs” ("NEA - NEA Home"). “The American Federation of Teachers has more than one million members nationwide and has grown into a trade union representing workers in education,
“Teacher unions defer efforts to reform the education system by changing teaching methods and keeping alternative systems from being reachable, such as charter schools, merit pay, scholarships, and school choice” (Thorne, 2011). “The evidence is reasonably persuasive that access to private schools and charter schools increases the likelihood that their children will fare well on reading and math tests or graduate from high school” (Hess, 2010). With a continuation of pay increases across the board, aspiring teachers do not see any incentives for high achievements, since those who are under performing still have equal benefits. Salary changes should be geared toward keeping effective teachers and changing the structure of pay, not just the magnitude. Having raises across-the-board raises will not solve the problems with the current uniform salary structure. “By implementing a merit-pay system, or reforming one that has strayed from its initial course, can have a powerful impact on employee engagement, job satisfaction, goal achievement, and the success of an organization” (Hagedorn, 2009, p.
The youngest of children would be toiling away in unsafe factories alongside their parents. The power of unions changed all of these. And in that, unions -- along with a reasonable system of regulations -- can be that brake we need on unfettered capitalism.
Union leaders negotiate hard, and they should. They are the representatives of all their members, and sometimes also of non-members who work in the organization, so they should bargain for all they can get for their workers. But union leaders also need to understand business more -- the financials, the trends, how to evaluate the viability of a business or state/city/municipality they work for (Masterfano, 2013).
The continuous debate over teacher unions will continue to rage. There is not clear decisions on the effectiveness of unions. However, with education reform on the forefront, one thing remains clear, teacher unions will remain on the hot seat for some