California has the second-strongest K-12 teachers unions in the nation, ranked just behind Vermont, according to a recently released study by the Thomas Fordham Institute.
The state has two unions that represent K-12 teachers: the California Teachers Association, with more than 300,000 members, and the California Federation of Teachers, with 120,000 members.
Nationwide, teachers unions have lost influence over the last decade, with a smaller percentage of teachers belonging to unions in 46 states and D.C., the study found.
The strongest unions are in more affluent Democrat-led states and the weakest in poorer Republican-led states, according to the study. Vermont had the highest overall ranking.
California K-12 unions are the strongest politically in the nation and have the most perceived influence, according to the study, which looked at public data and surveyed K-12 stakeholders in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
California’s unions collectively spent more money on state and local political ads in 2020 and 2022 than other unions. State teachers union contributions to state political parties between 2019 and 2024 were the second-highest in the nation.
California teachers also have the highest average salary in the nation and are tied for third place in the number of teacher strikes between 2019 and 2024.
