Should teachers be allowed to go on strike?

In 2018 teachers in five states have taken unpaid leave to protest the negative effects of low state education funding on the classroom, including on their paychecks.

Have there been any strikes by them? Aren't public employee strikes normally forbidden?

The answers to those concerns have been masked by divergent viewpoints, swift-moving events, and the teachers' blatant political might.

According to Dale Templeton, the National Education Association's director of collective bargaining and member advocacy, "the emphasis of what teachers have been working toward is the condition of the schools and the conditions of the classrooms in which they teach." The National Education Association's state affiliates have been at the center of the walkouts in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. 

She explained that in some states, the legislature is the target of advocacy.

According to the teachers' unions, the recent job actions do not violate state laws (in states where such laws exist) prohibiting public employees from going on strike because the teachers are participating in political speech and action that is directed at legislators rather than their immediate employers. In most cases, state law, not federal law, governs these public-sector labor issues.

According to Alice O'Brien, the general counsel of the NEA, "the educators are claiming that the legislatures are the ones who created these conditions, over many years." Therefore, when there is a dispute between the employees and the local school system, it is not a strike as many labor regulations define it..

The National Right to Work Foundation claims that 27 states have right-to-work laws "for the private and/or public sector," while AFSCME claims that "26 states prohibit fair-share fees or public-sector collective bargaining completely" in legal briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the labor law case Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, in which a decision is still pending.

It is against the law to demand that an employee join or contribute money to a union as a condition of employment under a right to work law.

 

 

I think that teachers should be allowed to go on strike, mainly for their paychecks. The rising inflation that is driving up the price on almost everything, is killing teachers' bank accounts. Also leaving them very little discretionary income.

 

Do you think teachers should be aloud to go on strike?

Should teachers get paid more?


Are Teacher Strikes Illegal? Depends Where You Are and Who You Ask (edweek.org)

You need to be a member of History 360 to add comments!

Join History 360

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies

  • Yes, I feel like teachers should be able to go on strike. Some of them don't get paid enough, and I can understand why'd they would be mad about it. I think teachers should be able to peacefully protest/ go on strike to show their opinion about things they do not like.

  • In my opinion, they should be able to go on strike if they wanted to. Many teachers get unfairly paid and want/need to speak out about it, and they may not have any better way of getting more money. Teachers get unfairly paid and want/need to speak out about it, and they may not have any better way of getting more money. 

  • In my opinion, they should be able to go on strike if they wanted to. Many kindergarten teachers and other teachers who have younger children have a tough job having to deal with all the problems of the kids but also the pay. In my opinion, they deal with a lot and they deserve a raise. 

  • In my opinion, teachers should be allowed to go on strike. Many teachers get unfairly paid and want/need to speak out about it, and they may not have any better way of getting more money. Just because students need them doesn't mean that they shouldn't get a voice to stand against unfair pay. In my opinion, teachers should get paid more because they help educate students and prepare them for college/teach in college.

  •  I don't think teachers should go on strike because Its not fair for the students. When students are gone, they are punished with so much work they have to make up, but,  when teachers are gone, they don't have anything to really make up, mostly just grade. Teachers should get paid more for dealing with us. 

  • I think that teachers should get paid more, they work a lot and have to deal with all of the kids they teach for a week. They do a lot and deserve to get paid right for teaching. I think that if teachers want to go on strike they can but if there is consiquence then they have to accept them or fight them.

This reply was deleted.
eXTReMe Tracker