Some education observers think President Obama's desire for education reform has put him at odds with teachers unions, which prefer the status quo.
Analysts also believe that the president's appointment of reform-minded Education Secretary Arne Duncan is another sore spot with the unions. But Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute doubts that will erode support for President Obama this election year.
"If the unions don't vote for the Democrats, where are they going to go? I suppose the concern is that they'll just sit out elections, or they won't provide assistance getting out the vote and things like that, but there's no real option," he offers. "So, they can be kind of taken for granted."
And McCluskey notes that the degree of union enthusiasm during the upcoming election could be a factor.
"The way it could make a difference is if the unions don't provide a whole lot of foot soldiers and a whole lot of energy on getting out the vote and going out to visit people and make sure that they know to vote for Obama, and then bringing people the polls -- it's how much leg work will they do rather than whether or not they'll vote for Obama," the analyst suggests.
Despite the differences, McCluskey believes union members will campaign hard for President Obama's re-election to keep Mitt Romney out of the White House.