Wisconsin’s bold reforms under Gov. Scott Walker’s leadership that curtailed government union power reshaped the state’s education landscape, and students benefited.
A cornerstone of Gov. Walker’s 2011 Budget Repair Bill (commonly known as Act 10) required local unions to stand for annual recertification elections, empowering teachers and creating greater accountability for unions. This provision was a particularly striking change, given that unions are rarely, if ever, required to stand for reelection once they are certified.
A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that Wisconsin districts with reduced union influence saw measurable gains in student achievement compared with districts where unions remained certified. Students posted significant gains in math and reading, as well as science and social studies. These improvements were not one-off results but persisted for years and were especially pronounced for low-income students and those with higher absentee rates. Prior analysis similarly found that weakening teacher union power resulted in notable student learning improvements, especially for disadvantaged students.
Student attendance rates also significantly improved following union decertification. Unlike test scores, attendance effects all K-12 students. The study notes that these attendance gains “help alleviate concerns that the effects were specific to state testing, such as if decertified teachers taught to the test.” There was no evidence of decertification affecting high-school dropout rates or out-of-school suspensions or expulsions.
Importantly, the student gains were not simply a matter of new, higher-quality teachers entering the workforce. There were limited workforce composition changes, according to the study, and teachers with higher value-added scores — a common measure of effectiveness — were less likely to be union members than lower-performing teachers. “Conceptually, this is consistent with the idea that lower-performing teachers value the representation benefits that unions provide relatively more than higher-performing teachers,” concludes the study. (Collective bargaining agreements often include provisions that make it difficult to dismiss ineffective educators.)
Making workplace democracy real
By requiring union recertification elections, Wisconsin respected teachers’ individual choice while strengthening local accountability, and students benefited. Most current Minnesota teachers have never had the chance to vote on union representation. The union that represents them was chosen by its members from decades ago, and without any requirement to reestablish majority support, workplace democracy turns out to be a very limited idea.
Wisconsin’s experience offers us a real-world case study that accountability and flexibility in public-sector labor arrangements are possible. With more than half of Minnesota students not meeting grade-level benchmarks in reading and math, adopting similar policies could boost student achievement and give teachers a voice in whether they want union representation.
