A new study shows Wisconsin’s teacher unions have lost more strength than any other state in the country over the past decade-plus.
Union membership among Wisconsin teachers dropped precipitously from 98% in 2012 to just 45% in 2025, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. That’s the biggest fall anywhere in the nation.
The main reason for the decline is Act 10, the 2011 law signed by then-Governor Scott Walker that largely ended collective bargaining rights for public employee unions in the state.
The Fordham Institute, an education think tank, ranked Wisconsin 36th out of 50 states and Washington, D.C., for overall teacher union strength. That’s an 18-spot drop from where the state stood in their 2012 study. Researchers looked at things like membership numbers, money, political activity, state laws, policy results, and how much influence people think the unions have.
Nationwide, teacher unions are generally weaker than they were more than ten years ago. The share of teachers who belong to unions fell in all but four states.
In Wisconsin, the plunge in membership was especially steep. The state now ranks 43rd in union resources and membership, way down from 13th in 2012.
Meredith Coffey, a researcher with the Fordham Institute, said most of the data from the earlier study came before Act 10 really took effect. As a result, the drop in Wisconsin’s ranking may actually understate how big the law’s impact has been.
“In other words, the estimated change in rank between 2012 and today is arguably conservative,” Coffey said in an email.
Wisconsin unions also come up short on money. After adjusting for the cost of living, they have the seventh-lowest annual revenue per teacher in the country. The state ranks 44th for its labor and bargaining policies. Under Act 10, public unions can only bargain for pay raises that match inflation.
Even with the losses, Wisconsin teacher unions remain active in politics. They ranked 25th in political involvement. In 2020 and 2022, they sponsored the second-most state and local political ads in the nation. About 70% of candidates they endorsed in 2024 won their races.
The unions ranked 26th in policy wins and losses, and 24th in perceived influence according to a survey of lawmakers, journalists, education officials, and others familiar with state education policy.
The report found that the strongest teacher unions are mostly in Democrat-led, wealthier states like Vermont, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Hawaii. The weakest are in Republican-led, lower-income states such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Mississippi.
Only five states have actually expanded collective bargaining rights for teachers since 2012 (Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia).
The findings highlight how Act 10 continues to shape Wisconsin’s education landscape more than a decade later, leaving teacher unions with far less power than they once held.
