T EACHER STRIKING By: Sally Jordan and Ethan Edwards

S TRIKES NATIONWIDE To name a few: strikes are legal for K-12 educators in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Lousiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and, in very limited cases Wisconsin.

T O S TRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE ? New teachers, without the protection of tenure, can be vulnerable during a strike. If you find yourself in a school district where a strike is called, you must decide if you believe the strike is justified and if you will join or not.

I F YOU DO STRIKE …. Courts have upheld teacher’s right to strike in only about half of the states. The school board may go within its rights to suspend, fine, or even fire you for striking. In Florida, employees who strike can be terminated and unions receive fines for damages up to $20,000 per strike day and face decertification. Georgia and Tennessee also reserve the right to terminate a striking teacher who will then have to wait three years before they can apply for re-employment. Although about half or the states have laws that prohibit strikes, many communities choose not to prosecute striking teachers

N EGATIVE OUTCOMES OF TEACHER STRIKING Financial burdens are conveyed by increased property taxes due to inflated teacher contracts and childcare costs during the strike. Social consequences are displayed by strained relationships between teachers and the community and parents During a teacher strike, children do not receive education.

H OW ARE STATES ABLE TO CONTROL STRIKES ? 1) Impose a penalty that takes away salary for each day teachers miss regularly scheduled school time. 2) Mandate a school year consisting of 180 days of instruction would have to be met by a specific date.

A CT 88- P ENNSYLVANIA In Pensylvania teachers won the right to strike in Pensylvania leads the nation in the number of annual teacher strikes. The number of strikes has decreased since the inception of Act 88 in Before Act 88, the number of strikes in the state reached a high point of 52 in But after Act 88 it decreased to about 17 per year. Act 88- ensures that every student gets 180 days of school by June 15.

H ISTORY VS. NOW Big urban strikes that used to interrupt the school year are pretty much relics of the past. That's because big cities are taking education more seriously, and teachers unions are going into negotiations looking for more than dollars — they have become part of the reform effort.

A LTERNATIVES TO STRIKING = UNIONS In numerous cases, courts have recognized the right of teachers to join professional organizations (unions), such as NEA( National Education Assosiation), and to bargain collectively for improved working conditions. Some communities and schools are adamenetly opposed to organizations and refuse to hire or to renew contracts of teachers who are actively in them. Such bias is illegal, but is difficult to prove in court.

W HAT DO UNIONS ACCOMPLISH ? Teacher unions negotiate and enforce contracts. Some public sector union officials have admitted that their unions are essentially political organizations. There are 22 “right to work” states and 28 “forced unionism” states. “Right to work” is defined as the right of an individual, to work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union. “Forced unionism” is defined as forcing representation onto an individual, and forcing that individual to pay union fees as a condition of employment.

S TRIKING IN N ORTH C AROLINA In NC, teachers have no legal right to strike. As a result, teachers join unions. However, 97.7% of teachers are not a part of a union. Why not join a union? Many unions believe that the idea of union representation is a benefit to all teachers and they should be required to pay for it. Teachers may noy necessarily agree with everything that a union stands for.

T EACHER UNIONS IN N ORTH C AROLINA American Federation of Teachers North Carolina Assosiation of Educators

N ORTH C AROLINA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS L EGISLATIVE WINS Salary preserved Leave-Allows sick leave earned by 10-month employees who leave employment at the end of the school year to have that leave reinstated after 63 calendar months versus the current 60 months.