'Pay Them What They Deserve': 1 in 6 Teachers Work a Second Job

As U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders prepared to hold his latest event amplifying teachers' demands for fair pay on Thursday, national data revealed that public school educators are far more likely than people in other professions to take on a second job—including during the academic year while they're juggling lesson plans and other teaching responsibilities.

According to the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), 17% of public elementary and secondary school teachers—about 1 in 6—have second jobs during the school year, while 16% work in nonschool settings during the summer months.

Across the U.S. economy, just 4.6% of all U.S. workers had multiple jobs at a time in 2020-21, the latest school year for which data is available regarding teachers who take on extra jobs.

The numbers during the 2020-21 school year, which was upended by the coronavirus pandemic, were consistent with those reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the NCES in previous years, according to the Pew Research Center, which reported on the data.

As Sanders (I-Vt.) noted earlier this week when he announced a town hall he is holding Thursday with more than 100 teachers and educational leaders, 40% of teachers are also compensated for extra work they do within their school systems, like leading extracurricular or other activities.

"Today, four hedge fund managers on Wall Street earn more in a year than every kindergarten teacher in America combined," said the senator, a longtime advocate for education and economic justice. "Teachers: Join us for a town hall... to discuss the enormously important issue of raising teacher pay and saving public education."

The town hall is set to take place in Washington, D.C. with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where Sanders is the ranking member, at 12:30 pm Eastern time. It will be available via livestream on Sanders' social media accounts.

"We need the best education system in the world, and that means we need the best teachers," said Sanders ahead of the event. "To get the best teachers, we need to pay them what they deserve."

"Today, four hedge fund managers on Wall Street earn more in a year than every kindergarten teacher in America combined."

Pew reported that while younger and less experienced teachers are more likely to hold nonteaching jobs during the summer months, teachers with the least amount of experience are about as likely as teachers who have been working for many years to take on extra jobs during the school year.

A 2023 Pew poll found that 51% of public school K-12 teachers reported they were not very or not at all satisfied with their pay, and another survey that same year showed 74% of U.S. adults believed teachers should be paid more—including close to 40% who said they should be paid a lot more.

The town hall is being held days after several school districts and teachers unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its freezing of funds for programs for low-income students, students who are learning English in school, after-school programs, and teacher development.

The plaintiffs argue the withholding of the funds violates the Impoundment Control Act, which bars presidents from stopping the disbursement of funds that have been appropriated by Congress, and warn that the funding freeze could force school districts to lay off teachers and staff and reduce programming.

"From day one, the Trump administration has attacked public education," said American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, who is set to speak at Sanders' town hall. "We won't let this administration defund our kids' futures."