How Do Teachers' Unions Influence Vaccine Mandates?

Kristian Thymianos
2022 Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal  
The COVID-19 pandemic presented an array of policy problems for school districts across the country. This included balancing social distancing during in-person learning. The creation of the COVID-19 vaccine made in-person learning a more viable option again. However, the political polarization that surrounded COVID-19 extended to vaccines, with many communities experiencing hurdles in vaccinating their populace. Previous research shows how teachers' unions influenced school district reopenings
more » ... uring the height of the pandemic in fall of 2020; this paper seeks to expand on this literature by looking at how teachers' unions influence the adoption of vaccination mandates and testing. I test whether a school district has a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with a teachers' union, the page length of that CBA. Using an OLS regression, I find that if a teachers' union has a CBA with its school district, the district is 33% more likely to adopt a vaccination and testing mandate than a district without a CBA. Additionally, the page length CBA has a weaker, but still significant relationship in encouraging the adoption of a vaccination and testing mandate in a school district.
doi:10.9741/2766-7227.1015 fatcat:kxq3xexajbdkxi64vt22hptgby