Dive Summary:
- Teachers unions were big winners in Tuesday's elections with victories that reversed tenure-eliminating laws in Idaho and South Dakota, preserved union political work in California and removed Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett--who wanted to remake public education--from office.
- The win over Bennett, whose supporters included Walmart heir Alice Walton and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was perhaps the biggest for teachers unions, as he had become a national leader in the bipartisan education reform movement and raised $1.3 million for his campaign (four times as much as challenger Glenda Ritz, who won 54% of the vote mostly on union support).
- Despite their victories Tuesday, the unions did lose battles over charter schools in Washington state and Georgia, as well as a referendum on a collective bargaining rights amendment in Michigan.
From the article:
Teachers unions won several big victories in both red and blue states Tuesday, overturning laws that would have eliminated tenure in Idaho and South Dakota, defeating a threat to union political work in California, and ousting a state schools chief in Indiana who sought to fundamentally remake public education. The night didn't belong entirely to big labor; advocates of charter schools, which are typically non-union, scored a win in Georgia and looked likely to prevail in a tough fight in Washington state. ...
