Has Students Come First hurt teacher unions?

The IEA and local leaders say their membership may have

declined, but their relevance hasn't, reports the Idaho

Statesman.

In Coeur d'Alene, union membership remains strong.

Idaho's controversial new school reform laws gutted teacher associations' collective bargaining powers, but local union leaders say they can still work effectively with their district administration to help shape policies.

"This (legislation) basically said to districts that if you don't want to work with teachers in these areas, you can say by law you don't have to do it anymore," Boise Education Association President Andrew Rath said. "But I think they've found that districts want to work with the teachers."/Kristin Rodine, Idaho Statesman Read more here

Kristi Milan, president of the Coeur d'Alene Education Association, told The Press that teacher union membership in the Coeur d'Alene School District has remained stable.

The district has 560 teachers and more non-teacher support staff members who are eligible for union membership. 

Milan said CEA membership stands at 400. The union local lost about 20 members this year to retirement, but added 44 new members, 38 of them teachers.

Milan said she thinks teacher union membership is down in some places in Idaho due to economics more than anything else. Some people just can't afford it right now, she said.

With the Students Come First reforms in place, Milan said teachers need the union more than ever, not less.