>>Not unilaterally of course.
>>The unions negotiate in effect with the same politicians the unions support.
>
>Not so in NY and NJ.
>Don't know about other states but in NY and NJ they negotiate with locally elected school boards.

Correct.
Who cares more and works more about the local school board election than the teachers unions?
Most non-teachers union voters get a lot more worked up about voting for president, and even governor, that about small local elections.

>As far as I know, no union official, even in NJ, has ever put a gun to the head of a school board member and forced him to sign a contract.
We are still talking New Jersey, right?