Conceptualizing Teachers Unions as Organizations Leading for Equity.

This article examines the evolving role of teachers unions in the United States as significant sites of equity-focused education leadership, highlighting how unions are increasingly engaging in racial equity initiatives beyond traditional labor concerns. Drawing on a qualitative case study of the Seattle Education Association (SEA), the article illustrates how the union institutionalized equity leadership by embedding racial equity teams (RETs) into its collective bargaining agreement and creating a Center for Racial Equity (CRE) staffed primarily by educators of color. These formal structures enabled SEA to prioritize racial equity, educator agency, and leadership development within the union, providing educators—especially women of color—with pathways to influence district-level policies. While acknowledging ongoing tensions and limitations inherent in union-district dynamics and the predominantly white composition of unions, the article argues that teachers unions represent underexplored but consequential organizational actors in advancing systemic racial equity in education.