Giving Compass' Take:

• Teacher Nicole Manning argues that in order for teachers unions to be successful under Janus they must be more responsive to and representative of their members.

• How can teachers unions better represent their members? 

• Learn more about the Janus decision. 

Across the country, educators are striking for basic education funding, grappling with the threat of mass shootings, and working under a federal Department of Education that seeks to roll back students’ civil rights.

But one of the issues most likely to impact teachers is currently not on most of their radars. A recent nationally representative survey by Educators for Excellence found that three-quarters of teachers had heard very little or nothing at all about the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case, which eliminated the “fair share” laws that fund teachers unions’ work and could lead to a steep decrease in union membership and resources.

Unions are essential to teachers’ ability to advocate for themselves and their students, and the Janus decision could strike a tremendous blow to teachers’ influence on education policy. But we teachers shouldn’t resign ourselves to this fate. We can continue to lift up our voices on the issues that matter to us by becoming more involved in our unions to make sure they stay strong.

However, if we are standing up for our unions, they, in turn, must stand for our beliefs. In this new era in which union membership will likely no longer be a given, teachers unions will have to work especially hard to engage their members and actively fight for the issues we care about.

Post-Janus, our unions will have to work hard to close the gaps between what teachers want their unions to prioritize and what they have been prioritizing. It needs to be easier for members to share our views.

Read the full article about teachers unions by Nicole Manning at The 74.