If you鈥檙e running for a school board seat, there鈥檚 no bigger boost to your candidacy than an endorsement from the local teachers鈥 union.
School board candidates who win the support of their local teachers鈥 union win their elections nearly three-quarters of the time, with the union endorsement proving more influential than other endorsements as well as a candidate鈥檚 promise to focus on student achievement or an incumbent鈥檚 track record boosting it,
What鈥檚 more, while a teachers鈥 union endorsement is particularly persuasive among Democrats and to a lesser extent among independents, it doesn鈥檛 even hurt a candidate鈥檚 chances among Republican voters, the research paper says.
The degree of teachers鈥 unions鈥 influence in school board races means that candidates who are most likely to support increasing teachers鈥 pay are, in effect, more likely to make it onto the local school board.
As school boards become a more hotly contested political battleground, with groups from both the right and left looking to invest big in such races in the coming years, the research shows that these newer groups have a lot of catching up to do to match teachers鈥 unions鈥 power.
Vladimir Kogan, director of undergraduate studies and a political science professor at Ohio State University, and Michael T. Hartney, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, came to their conclusions after conducting three different studies spanning more than a decade.
In the first study, voters in San Diego in 2012 were presented with one of two versions of candidates鈥 biographies鈥攐ne that included endorsement information and one that didn鈥檛.
They found that exposure to the endorsement information increased support for the union-endorsed candidate by about six percentage points. The impact was greatest among Democratic voters, who were about 12 percentage points more likely to vote for a union-endorsed candidate, compared to about six percentage points among independents. There was 鈥渂asically zero鈥 influence among Republicans, the researchers noted, but 鈥渋t does not appear to harm candidates among any subgroup of voters.鈥
鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of surprising because you don鈥檛 see that in other areas,鈥 Kogan said in an interview. 鈥淧eople have done similar studies with police union endorsements, and when you tell somebody that a candidate for city council is endorsed by the police union, Republican support goes up, but Democratic support goes down. But for some reason, teachers鈥 unions don鈥檛 have that symmetrical effect.鈥
Teachers鈥 union endorsements have 鈥榰nique clout鈥
In the second study, conducted in January 2023, Kogan and Hartney replicated their earlier study, but at a national scale and with hypothetical candidates. The later study also controlled for other factors that could affect voters鈥 choices, like the candidates鈥 age and gender.
It asked respondents which candidate they would be most likely to support based on their biographies.
The results were strikingly similar to the 2012 study: Respondents who were told that one of the candidates had been endorsed by the teachers鈥 union were about eight percentage points more likely to support that candidate. As in 2012, the unions鈥 endorsements did not hurt a candidate鈥檚 chances among any voter group.
鈥淲e found that endorsement was one of the strongest predictors of voters鈥 choice,鈥 Kogan said.
Voters were also more likely to support the union-backed candidates than those supported by the local newspaper and business leaders, 鈥渢wo other stakeholders likely to be well-informed and have at least some shared interests in the quality of public education, two key conditions thought to make endorsements credible for voters,鈥 the research says.
鈥淎lthough voters also appear to prefer candidates endorsed by chambers of commerce, local newspapers, and cafeteria workers鈥 unions, the effect of teachers鈥 union endorsements is larger in absolute terms,鈥 the paper says. 鈥淭hus, teachers鈥 unions appear to have unique clout in potentially influencing voter behavior.鈥
Voters were also more likely to support school board candidates who had children of their own, especially if they were enrolled in the public school system. Candidates who had children enrolled in private schools were still preferred over candidates who did not have any children.
In their third study, Kogan and Hartney evaluated voters鈥 beliefs about union-endorsed candidates and how those beliefs compared to what actually drives unions鈥 support of certain candidates. They did this research using a database they created of union endorsements across California between 1998 and 2022.
Which candidates teachers鈥 unions support
They found that voters believe union-supported candidates will be the most effective at improving students鈥 academic achievement and be more responsive to parents鈥 concerns.
The unions, however, based their endorsements on different criteria: They were most likely to support incumbent candidates who had increased teachers鈥 salaries. There鈥檚 鈥渧ery little evidence suggesting that academic improvement shapes union evaluations of school board candidates asking for more time on the board,鈥 the research paper said.
Kogan added: 鈥淲hen it comes to endorsing incumbents running for reelection, it seemed the teachers鈥 unions don鈥檛 care about student outcomes at all. It doesn鈥檛 matter how we measure it, there鈥檚 no effect at all鈥攊t鈥檚 precisely zero effect.鈥
Spokespeople for the nation鈥檚 two largest teachers鈥 unions鈥攖he American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association鈥攄id not respond to requests for comment.
To be sure, school districts have reported growing difficulty in recent years staffing classrooms, and teachers in a recent survey reported that dissatisfaction with their base salaries, as well as long hours and sometimes poor working conditions, hurt their well-being and led them to consider quitting.
Past research has found that when comparing weekly wages, teachers earn an average of about 24 percent less than other college-educated workers.
found that higher-paid teachers led to students performing better on standardized tests, likely because increased pay attracts high-quality candidates, boosts teachers鈥 enthusiasm for the job, and increases retention rates.
Kogan said there are two important takeaways for policymakers from the research.
First, some states and cities have moved or considered moving school board elections from 鈥渙ff years鈥 to align with presidential election years in an attempt to increase voter turnout and limit the influence of teachers鈥 votes and union endorsements. But, Kogan argued, if the average voter is more likely to vote for a union-endorsed candidate, switching election years might not have that effect.
Second, Kogan said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that voters understand the unions are representing their members. Sometimes, the interests of their members are aligned [with voters鈥 priorities] and sometimes they鈥檙e not, but it鈥檚 important to keep in mind.鈥
