Stand By Me

Published July 1, 2003

Only one in three (34 percent) of the public school teachers surveyed for Public Agenda’s new report, Stand By Me, is “involved and engaged” in local teacher union activities, and more than half (56 percent) think “the union charges far higher dues than are warranted by what it does for teachers.”

Only 19 percent say the policy stands of the national union reflect their own values and preferences, and almost half (49 percent) say the union’s state and national political clout is the service they value least.

Yet more than three out of four teachers agree that without the union standing by them:

  • Teachers would face unfair charges from parents or students and have nowhere to turn;
  • The working conditions and salaries of teachers would be much worse;
  • Teachers would be vulnerable to school politics or administrators who abuse their power.