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The article argues that powerful teachers unions are detrimental to public education based on a study from the Progressive Policy Institute showing states with strong union presence generally score worse in student literacy tests compared to those where unions have less influence. The author claims that unions prioritize their own interests over students' needs and resist reforms, using New York and Los Angeles as examples of how union power hinders educational improvements despite significant spending on schools.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The New York Post editorial board argues that strong teachers' unions negatively impact public education. According to a Progressive Policy Institute study, states with influential American Federation of Teachers (AFT) or National Education Association (NEA) tend to have worse student literacy scores compared to those where the unions have less influence. The article highlights that eight out of the ten states with the worst literacy scores are blue states with powerful teachers' unions. Rachel Canter, PPI's director of education policy and architect of Mississippi’s educational improvements, notes a significant correlation between weaker union power and better student performance.
Written for “Teachers Unions Impact Education” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
In the latest sign that powerful teachers unions make for weak schools, a study out of the left-leaning Progressive Policy Institute shows that states where the American Federation of Teachers or National Education Association wield great power overwhelmingly score worse in student literacy than ones where the unions have less sway.
right criticizes strong teachers' unions
-
Unions prioritize their own political power and their members’ privileges, not the children’s needs; that’s not their job.
right accuses unions of prioritizing self-interest over students' needs
-
And when government-employee unions have too much power, the public suffers.
right asserts that union power harms the public
-
New York — home to the powerful United Federation of Teachers and New York State United Teachers — ranks among the least literate, with over half of 3rd- through 5th-graders failing reading proficiency exams.
right links union power to poor educational outcomes
-
Every year, the unions pour tens of millions of dollars into electing Democrats (and some obedient Republicans) who’ll keep spending more on public schools while requiring less of public-school teachers.
right accuses unions of supporting politicians who do not hold them accountable
-
That makes a difference everywhere: Indeed, deep-blue Massachusetts has managed to pass strong “science of reading” reforms over union opposition — in part because some heroic teachers stood up to call out the labor leaders’ lies.
right credits reform efforts that overcome union resistance
Leaning score +0.85 for article 17462 (high confidence, 6 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-18
Claims extracted
15
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
59.3
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
In the latest sign that powerful teachers unions make for weak schools, a study out of the left-leaning Progressive Policy Institute shows that states where the American Federation of Teachers or National Education Association wield great power overwhelmingly score worse in student literacy than ones where the unions have less sway.
asserted
unions → make → sway
The reason’s obvious: Unions prioritize their own political power and their members’ privileges, not the children’s needs; that’s not their job.
asserted
that → ’ → power
And when government-employee unions have too much power, the public suffers.
asserted
public → have → power
Yes, other factors matter, too: Five Republican states and one swing state have relatively poor literacy scores; four Democratic states are among the 23 top-performing.
But the union factor is huge.
asserted
factor → matter → 23
Rachel Canter is PPI’s director of Education Policy and an architect of the Mississippi Miracle that’s seen that state make huge gains in literacy instruction by paying close heed to the science of reading; she sums up the study: “We found a strong, negative correlation between the two — the more powerful the unions, the fewer literacy-policy principles the state had adopted.
asserted
state → see → two
Reform requires teachers to do things differently; unions insist on charging a high price for any change — and hate any standards that might expose some teachers as not up to the job.
uncertain
that → require → job
New York — home to the powerful United Federation of Teachers and New York State United Teachers — ranks among the least literate, with over half of 3rd- through 5th-graders failing reading proficiency exams.
asserted
half → rank → exams
Gov. Kathy Hochul tried to work with the unions to help the kids; it was a fiasco: She paid NYSUT millions to design a “science of reading” curriculum, only for it to produce garbage.
asserted
it → try → garbage
No wonder New York fourth-graders now lag their Mississippi peers in reading.
asserted
graders → lag → reading
And pity poor Los Angeles, whose teachers union is an affiliate of both the AFT and NEA.
asserted
union → pity → AFT
Every year, the unions pour tens of millions of dollars into electing Democrats (and some obedient Republicans) who’ll keep spending more on public schools while requiring less of public-school teachers.
asserted
who → pour → teachers
Nationally, the jig is increasingly up: Too many parents saw strong teachers unions keep school doors locked long past any point of reason after COVID hit, with AFT President Randi Weingarten working the Biden administration to support the madness; parents also saw what a joke the “remote learning” was, and got a taste of the pathetic curricula favored by blue-area public schools.
asserted
learning → see → schools
That makes a difference everywhere: Indeed, deep-blue Massachusetts has managed to pass strong “science of reading” reforms over union opposition — in part because some heroic teachers stood up to call out the labor leaders’ lies.
asserted
teachers → make → lies
We believe in public education — but it has to mean schools that deliver for the kids, or every parent who can will find a different answer.
asserted
who → believe → answer
Too bad Randi Weingarten & Co. have forgotten about that.
asserted
Weingarten → forget → that
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