A teacher strike is when teachers refuse to work as a form of protest. Typically they strike for specific reasons that revolve around their contract negotiations or under funded classrooms. They might also strike for broader social issues such as class sizes, a lack of resources like art supplies or social workers, or school safety concerns.
Generally speaking, strikes are illegal in most states but some allow for a teacher walkout if a majority of their members vote to approve the move. In most cases, a district will try to prevent the strike by filing an injunction against the teachers’ union. If the injunction is granted, the union can lose their dues deduction privileges and leaders can face fines or even jail time.
In recent years, however, big city teachers’ unions have expanded their focus beyond wage bargaining and into broader social issues such as air conditioning in schools and affordable housing assistance for students and families. As such, some teachers in cities such as Los Angeles and Oakland have won their fights for things like more community schools, the end of random search of student luggage and legal support for students with immigration concerns.
Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, most strikes are short and do not have any sizable negative effects on students. This is especially true if the strikes are focused on state policy rather than local contract negotiation or classroom conditions. In fact, the study of 610 districts in 27 states that saw teachers strike between 2007 and 2023 found that a strike lasted on average only two days and resulted in 89 fewer school days canceled annually.