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**MAY 1, 2026**
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I’ve reported on issues facing education in the U.S. many times before, but the National Education Association’s annual reports on educator pay was eye-opening [link removed]. Educators are up against a lot: changes to what they’re allowed to teach, cuts to their funding, a massive affordability crisis and more. Yet, there’s been gains in the past year when it comes to educator’s salaries, which is due to the power of unionization. NEA’s research indicates to me that collective bargaining will continue to be successful, regardless of any future attacks that education in the U.S. will face under the Trump administration.
**–Naomi Bethune, writing fellow**
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Ted Soqui/Sipa USA via AP Images
Collective Bargaining Continues to Support Educators [link removed]
Teachers are underpaid, overworked, and often unappreciated. With Teacher Appreciation Week approaching, the National Education Association’s (NEA) release of its annual reports [link removed] on educator pay provide a comprehensive look into just how much teachers are making. While the pay gap between teachers and similarly educated professionals is stark, unionization and the power of collective bargaining are highlighted as a consistent vehicle for ensuring that educators are paid what they deserve.
In 2023-2024, the average public school teacher was earning $72,030, with the highest-paying state, California, at $101,084 and the lowest, Missouri, at $55,132. Between 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, the average change in salaries was about 3.5 percent. However, after factoring in inflation, teachers actually have seen a 5 percent
**decrease** in real earnings, or constant dollars, compared to ten years ago.
For every dollar [link removed] that similarly educated professionals earn, teachers received 73.1 cents in 2024, creating a teacher pay gap of 27 percent. Nationally, teachers entering the workforce in 2024-2025 received a salary of $48,112, and the average top teacher salary was $87,331.
However, advocating for higher pay and better working conditions through collective bargaining has been tremendously successful. The NEA’s research shows that unionized K-12 teachers in states with collective-bargaining rights earned 24 percent more ($80,176) than their counterparts without them ($64,500). Unions are able to stand strong against the changing political and economic tides in the U.S. Protecting the rights of those who work in education can be, and will continue to be, possible through sustained collective action.
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