The is currently negotiating its first contract with the 180,000-student Virginia district. It鈥檚 one of four school administrators unions that recently formed in the state, following the lifting of a nearly . And Virginia is not alone.

Similar law changes, coupled with revisions to school policies post-COVID, have fueled an increase in the number of school administrators unions and contract negotiations nationwide.

Since 2020, 11 new union locals have joined the , which now represents some 25,000 school and district leaders in 150 chapters across the country, said communications director Scott Treibitz. The new locals are in Denver; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; San Diego; Rochester, Minnesota; Imperial Beach, California; Frisco, Colorado; Chula Vista, California; St. Louis, Missouri; and Chester, Pennsylvania, as well as Fairfax.

Other unions, like the , have existed for decades but recently negotiated their first contracts.

Litz, who helped create the 1,400-member Fairfax County administrators union after the state law changed, has managed contract negotiations since April.

鈥淚t’s been really eye-opening for me, and over the past two or three years, I鈥檝e actually become pretty passionate about ensuring that working conditions exist so that we can really do our best work for kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has been a lot of hard work, but it has been good work.鈥�

Administrators unions have seen 鈥渁 huge growth spurt since the pandemic,鈥� Treibitz said. The federation’s membership was roughly 20,000 in 2020 and has grown by about 5,000, he said.

鈥淪ince COVID, there has been a foot on the [gas] pedal of school administrators to organize, and COVID played a key ingredient in that,鈥� he said. 鈥淪chool districts were changing policies, and in order to operate, they had to negotiate with teachers unions, and any other work that had to happen was dumped on principals, assistant principals and all the central office folks.鈥�

The was and approved a collective bargaining agreement last year. The three-year contract includes a 4.5% cost-of-living adjustment, administrator stipends, $1,000 retention bonuses and a working group on school and leader safety, according to . 

In Minnesota, the became the state鈥檚 , in 2022. The union approved a in 2024 that includes roughly a 3.5% raise each year.

The Fairfax County administrators union was founded as a federation affiliate in 2023, after the allowed local governments to grant employee unions collective bargaining rights. The district鈥檚 teachers unions have existed for decades and were able to negotiate contracts after the law changed, but the administrators union had to be created from scratch.

In 2023, about 24% of elementary and secondary school administrators were union members, according to the . Nearly 70% of teachers were in a union in the 2020-21 school year, the latest data available from shows. On average, unionized school leaders earned roughly $500 more per week than their non-union counterparts.

The was a professional membership organization for years but was able to collectively bargain after legislation to allow the practice was signed .

鈥淔or the first time, Chicago school leaders have a guaranteed, enforceable voice in policies that directly affect their schools and students,鈥� said union President Kia Banks in a press release. 鈥淥ver the years, principals were often made the face of policies they didn鈥檛 support, left to manage failing systems and even targeted with retaliation. Many felt isolated in their roles and unappreciated in their communities, factors that negatively impacted schools.鈥�

The 鈥� which still has to be approved by members and the school board 鈥� includes a retroactive 4% cost-of-living increase for the 2024-25 school year and baseline raises for the coming school year. It also creates more due-process protections for principals who face disciplinary actions.

Lack of voice and pay raises also fueled other administrator unions’ recent contract negotiations.

The is asking for higher pay to offset . It also wants more compensation for additional assigned duties and flexible scheduling when staff are required to stay after hours to address student mental health. In December, the group organized under the umbrella of the Teamsters union after they said their voices went unheard, according to the .

鈥淎dministrators remain undervalued and underpaid. Many are working 60-plus hours a week, sacrificing work-life balance and mental health, without the recognition or compensation they deserve,鈥� union President Maria Nichols wrote in an August member . 鈥淭his is not sustainable. How is it that teachers receive an hourly rate for work beyond their contracted day, while administrators 鈥� also salaried employees 鈥� receive nothing?鈥�

In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, administrators at least one hour longer than their teachers each day in exchange for a 3.5% raise, in a contract approved in February. In Maryland, administrators with Prince George鈥檚 County Public Schools landed yearly raises and bonuses of up to $3,000 in a that was ratified by members in April. 

The United Administrators of San Francisco with its district in August. President Anna Klafter said school principals, supervisors and program administrators can earn up to $40,000 a year more in surrounding districts, are being tasked with extra responsibilities such as addressing student medical needs and have fewer support staff. These issues have contributed to a , according to the union. 

鈥淥ur teachers got a really big raise 鈥� which we’re very happy they did 鈥� but while [they] were able to get a 5% raise last year, we were not,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淣ow, we have teachers who are making more than their principals, and we have potential principals and leaders who aren’t willing to go into these roles, because they wouldn’t even be making as much money as they do as teachers.鈥�

The national principal turnover rate declined from a high of 16% right after the pandemic to about 8% in the 2023-24 school year, according to the 2025 . The rate is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, which were roughly 3%.

鈥淧eople don’t necessarily want to leave their jobs,鈥� Treibitz said. 鈥淭hey’re just trying to find mechanisms to help protect them and help make their job a more sturdy job, because the changes are fast and furious.鈥�

Parents and the public are represented by superintendents and school boards, but at school sites they rely on principals and other supervisors. However, in many of the largest districts, these school managers are also union members.

Having seen the gains teachers unions made for their members both in salary and working conditions, administrators unions would like to copy that success.

There are 92,000 principals working in the public schools, and another 100,000 assistant principals. The vast majority have long backgrounds in teaching. The average principal had 12 years in the classroom before moving to an administrative role.

In many states, public school teachers are banned or restricted from bargaining collectively, and the hurdles are even higher for administrators, who can be viewed as both labor and management.

Principals unions were originally formed along with teachers unions in the 1960s and 1970s, but it wasn鈥檛 just superintendents and other district managers who found the event problematic. The passed a resolution in 1977 demanding the ouster of school administrators from the AFL-CIO, with which both are affiliated, citing their managerial responsibilities. AFT also claimed the administrators would 鈥渟ubvert collective bargaining achievements of organized teachers鈥� and 鈥渃ast teachers in an anti-union role.鈥�

Despite these differences, principals unions mirrored AFT in policies, structure and composition. is the national umbrella union for five state chapters and 85 local affiliates. It鈥檚 small, with a budget of just $1.5 million, and acts primarily as a federal lobbying arm. The union鈥檚 priorities are very similar to those of the teachers unions.

Last month, union President Leonard Pugliese , calling on him to 鈥渄evelop and implement a Marshall Plan for public education.鈥� This is something both and have advocated.

supported legislation to mandate an assistant principal in every public school and to integrate social-emotional learning concepts into pre-K-12 education.

Naturally, it wants to expand its membership as well. 鈥淚n districts without school leader unions, the workload has increased, but the compensation hasn鈥檛 moved accordingly. We need to help organize the unorganized school leaders, so they can protect themselves, too,鈥� said Pugliese.

As with the AFT, by far the largest portion of federation membership works in the New York City Public Schools, represented by the . The New York City administrators account for more than 63% of the national union鈥檚 22,000 members.

The council has an additional quirk that may be unique among all labor unions: More than 53% of its total membership are retirees. While the national union operates on a shoestring, the New York City branch collects $18.4 million in dues, and its president was paid more than $287,000 in 2022.

Principals unions tend to form in large cities. AFSA has locals in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Oakland, San Diego, Denver, Seattle, Portland and Washington, D.C. Los Angeles also has an administrators union, but it is independent.

While some of these unions have existed for many years, they can’t all bargain collectively. The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association

Acting alone, administrators unions have no more power or influence than any other small advocacy group. But when they act in concert with teachers unions, they can leave school sites with all labor and no management. Without it, parents and the public lose much of their influence over their schools.

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.