Teacher Strikes

Education news, analysis, and opinion about labor actions by teachers that close or disrupt schools

Explainer

Teacher Strikes, Explained: Recent Strikes, Where They're Illegal, and More
Here's what to know about educator labor actions and how they've evolved since the 20th century.
Teaching Profession Teachers in One-Quarter of W.Va. Districts Walk Out
Nearly 5,000 teachers did not report to work to protest a lower-than-expected raise.
Vaishali Honawar, March 20, 2007
3 min read
Teaching Profession Detroit Teachers, District Strike Deal to Open Schools
After 16 days on the picket lines, teachers in Detroit returned to their schools at the end of last week, ending a period of intense uncertainty and chaos for the already-troubled district.
Vaishali Honawar, September 19, 2006
3 min read
Teaching Profession Detroit Union Agrees to Deal Ending Strike
After a 16-day strike that kept schools closed for more than a week past the scheduled opening date, teachers and school officials in Detroit this morning announced they have a tentative agreement.
Vaishali Honawar, September 12, 2006
2 min read
On Sept. 5, the first, and so far only, day of the school year, pupils show up for class at Lodge Elementary School on Detroit's west side. Administrators, staff members, and parents filled in for striking teachers in district schools.
On Sept. 5, the first, and so far only, day of the school year, pupils show up for class at Lodge Elementary School on Detroit's west side. Administrators, staff members, and parents filled in for striking teachers in district schools.
Brian Widdis for Education Week
Teaching Profession Detroit Students Go to School for One Day
The educational prospects of some 120,000 students who attend Detroit public schools continued to hang in the balance last week, as a teachers’ strike rolled past the opening day of school and district officials canceled classes indefinitely.
Vaishali Honawar, September 12, 2006
9 min read
Teaching Profession Teachers’ Unions Coming to Terms With Their Districts
Teachers in Gary, Ind., returned to work Sept. 1, the morning after resolving an 11-day strike.
Laura Greifner, September 12, 2006
3 min read
Teaching Profession Striking Detroit Teachers Ignore Judge’s Order To Go Back to Work
Teachers in Detroit continued to picket today in defiance of a judge’s order demanding they go back to school, throwing into uncertainty an administration plan to reopen schools tomorrow.
Vaishali Honawar, September 11, 2006
1 min read
Ohio: Brian Loges, an art teacher at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, pickets outside the school Aug 25.
<b>Ohio:</b> Brian Loges, an art teacher at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, pickets outside the school Aug 25.
Lisa Powell/Dayton Daily News/AP
Teaching Profession Labor Unrest Shuts Schools in Midwest
The new school year has brought with it a fresh wave of labor unrest, as teachers in districts large and small went back to school without new contracts and thousands took to the picket lines.
Vaishali Honawar, September 1, 2006
6 min read
Teaching Profession Picket Fencing
Once as familiar in the back-to-school ritual as falling leaves, teacher strikes seem headed for a winter freeze.
Joetta L. Sack, December 21, 2005
3 min read
Federal Teacher Strikes Limited to a Few Small Districts
Once a fairly common occurrence in the back-to-school scene, teacher strikes have fallen off this fall, continuing a recent trend.
Joetta L. Sack, November 8, 2005
4 min read
A picketer at Crosby Ironton High rests her chin on a sign. The strike is the first in the state in two years.
A picketer at Crosby Ironton High rests her chin on a sign. The strike is the first in the state in two years.
Jim Mone/AP
Teaching Profession Minn. Teachers Take Strike Into 7th Week
A teachers’ strike in a small district in central Minnesota entered its seventh week last week, after talks between the Crosby-Ironton school board and the local teachers’ union broke down for a third time. The impasse triggered anger and frustration among teachers, administrators, community members, and students in the rural community.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, March 29, 2005
3 min read
Teaching Profession Few Teachers’ Strikes Mark U.S. Landscape
Since the start of the school year, teachers have gone on strike in only a few districts. But the relative labor peace is no sign that negotiations have been easy.
Bess Keller, October 8, 2004
4 min read
Families & the Community Bad Blood
After two bitter strikes in three years, the community of Middletown, N.J., hopes to purge the venom from its school system.
Bess Keller, October 1, 2004
11 min read
Teaching Profession Teachers’ Unions in Latin America Take Militant Tack
Teachers’ strikes throughout Latin America have left millions of students out of school this year, and in some cases, even sparked violent clashes between militant protesters and police forces.
John Gehring, September 30, 2004
6 min read
Teaching Profession Contract Approved in Chicago, Averting Teachers' Strike
The Chicago school board unanimously adopted a contract with the city teachers' union last week, heading off a strike in the nation's third-largest district that had been slated to begin Dec. 4.
Julie Blair, November 26, 2003
2 min read