Organized opposition.

• Author: Koteskey, Tyler
• Position: Teachers' unions case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association - Follow-Up

In the February 1998 issue of reason, Richard Seder documented the rise of America's powerful national teachers unions. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association had grown to a combined 3 million members, making public school teachers the most unionized group in the country. Unfortunately, the price of this power was lower public school quality and less long-term innovation. "By controlling the process, the unions control the pace of change while dictating what those changes will be," Seder wrote, "whether or not they are in the interests of the teachers they represent."

Meticulously detailed contracts left principals without the flexibility to pursue new ideas. Uniform salary requirements kept those with high-demand skills, particularly in science, technology, and math, from earning more. Union opposition to merit pay prevented quality employees from being rewarded. That's no way to structure incentives for an education system.

Until recently, the Supreme Court looked poised to push back against the unions' grip. In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, several Golden State teachers challenged a law requiring non-union teachers to pay hundreds of dollars each year in mandatory "agency fees" that support collective bargaining...