By Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report
President Barack Obama’s re-election on Tuesday — along with Democratic victories in key states — marked a reprieve for teachers unions after a difficult year of political attacks and shrinking membership.
The defeat of Indiana’s Republican superintendent of public instruction, Tony Bennett, combined with labor-friendly results on a series of ballot initiatives, demonstrates the continuing strength of unions, said Terry Moe, a political scientist at Stanford University and the author of “Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools.”
“They’re powerful enough that they can go after their enemies,” Moe said. “That tends to prevent a lot of policymakers from doing anything.”