On Leadership: Local unions need to catch up with the times

Abstract

While firm in his support for the national teachers unions, PDK’s Joshua Starr argues that local unions often stand in the way of positive changes to the teaching profession. Of particular concern, right now, are chapter leaders who refuse to consider changes to rigid “last-in, first-out” rules, which — during fiscal crises — protect the jobs of veteran teachers at the expense of newer hires. In recent years, many districts have made it a priority to diversify the teaching force, Starr notes. If local unions remain inflexible, then pandemic-related layoffs will undo that progress, forcing superintendents to lay off many of the teachers of color they’ve recently hired.