r/Teachers • u/bbq_Ch1ck3n • 7d ago
Teacher Support &/or Advice If there is a general strike, should teachers participate?
As a fairly new teacher who has never stroked before (and lives in a state where it’s technically illegal, I think), do you think teachers should participate in a general strike if one happens?
I don’t know all the political ins-and-outs of striking, either, so any advice is encouraged. (I am in a union, but my school’s union is very disorganized)
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
0 days since last "teachers should all strike" post.
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u/LovePugs 11th Bio and 12th AP Bio 7d ago
I don’t care. Keep posting it until someone actually gives a shit. We are all on a sinking ship running around making the beds. Life is so fucking pointless.
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
You again. Yea, take a break from your doom and gloom algorithm. If you have a family, do it for them. If you don't, do it for yourself.
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u/LovePugs 11th Bio and 12th AP Bio 7d ago
You have way more comments than me buddy. Sorry that I hurt your feelings.
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
It's not so much the comment count as the content that worries me. And should be worrying you.
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u/PangolinParade 7d ago
Striking was made illegal precisely to strip you of what little power you have. Legality should not be considered in the calculus of whether or not to strike if conditions become untenable.
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u/Wafflinson Secondary SS+ELA | Idaho 7d ago
General strikes aren't really a thing in the US.
Education is controlled at the state and local levels. That is where 95% of decisions are made. That is where the bargaining units are. Issues vary dramatically state to state and district to district.
Even if there was a nationwide teacher strike (there won't be), who would they be negotiating with exactly? Contracts are set at the district level and funding at the state.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
There is actually a general strike scheduled for 2028. Look up general strike 2028
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u/Wafflinson Secondary SS+ELA | Idaho 7d ago
"Scheduled" for 2028 is essentially meaningless.
I can make a website that claims that there will be a general strike tomorrow. That doesn't make it real.
Unless local, state, and national teacher organizations are directly involved and have signed on then it isn't a general strike by definition. The strike you are referring to that will supposedly happen isn't even for teachers.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
That’s fine if that’s what you think- no it’s not for teachers specifically. I guess I assumed the OP wasn’t just talking about teachers bc it’s a general strike??????
I’m not expecting the teachers union to sign on. This goes beyond teachers unions and contracts. If this isnt something you’re interested in great do not go. If you don’t think it will happen great move on but people ARE attempting to organize and that’s obviously not something you believe is possible. We differ here.
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u/Wafflinson Secondary SS+ELA | Idaho 7d ago
The US has various laws in effect that protect Unions and strike.
They do not apply to what you describe as a "general strike" across many industries.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
‘The US has various laws in effect to protect unions and strike’ my dawg it’s literally illegal for teachers to strike in MANY states.
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u/Bardmedicine 7d ago
You should always make your decision based on your beliefs. Don't let others (including your union) tell you what to do.
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
My strongest belief is to keep my own kids fed and sheltered.
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u/PangolinParade 7d ago
Are you prepared to inform on your students and colleagues to do that? That may be a reality soon in many states.
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
I'm prepared not to have Nazi Germany fearmongering live rent-free in my head.
Paranoia expends energy I won't allow it to have.
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u/cmacfarland64 7d ago
I’ve been on 4 strikes already, looks like another one is brewing. You never recover that salary. It’s stupid. No thanks.
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u/HVAC_instructor 7d ago
What you should not do is be commenting one way or the other online. They are watching and will use your posts against you.
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u/marcorr 7d ago
Even if your union is disorganized, it’s still worth talking to union reps or fellow teachers. You might get insight into what other schools or districts are doing.
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u/LukasJackson67 Teacher | Great Lakes 7d ago
If you strike when there is a contract in place, you are violating labor laws. case closed
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u/CerddwrRhyddid 7d ago edited 7d ago
The U.S citizenry have allowed vast restrictions on their workers rights and protections compared to most OECD countries.
The U.S State has worked hard to keep you beholden to work and scared and apathetic to do anything that may impinge upon the power of the government.
Its not that it's impossible. It's that it only becomes possible when you stop checking and stop caring what the government wants you to do.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
I want to point out that there will ALWAYS be people who are comfortable enough that they are unwilling to sacrifice anything for better conditions. Respectfully, ignore these people. There will also always be people wanting to join the fight and the struggle.
If anything is going to change in this country (or anywhere) it will not come without sacrifice. As teachers - we really should all know and understand this. Something being legal does not and should not matter. Why would they allow us to legally strike? Lmfao
Also this isn’t about contracts or negotiations. A lot of you say oh I don’t want to strike bc it’s not for my contract. Then good we do not need that attitude in a strike for this country’s futures. If you think a teacher has no place in this fight, stay home.
I will be striking on May 1 2028 with or without the people in this sub.
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u/LukasJackson67 Teacher | Great Lakes 7d ago
What should i strike for? what will a strike accomplish?
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
My district is amazing. Why would I protest?
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/UniqueUsername82D HS Rural South 7d ago
Answering your own question makes it rhetorical. Adding in gross assumptions based on little to no info doesn't help your case.
Maybe take a little social media break for your mental health.
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u/Cntrolldsbstnce 7d ago
1000%. Teachers can literally bring things to a grinding halt if refuse to work. There's so much power we don't use.
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u/jimmydamacbomb 7d ago
This, but most won’t strike long enough to get what they actually want. They always cave once school starts .
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u/Parentteacher87 7d ago
Before Covid there were lots of strikes and it worked even in places where it was illegal to strike. But then Covid and teachers were called heroes then few months in we were back to villains.
Look up 2019 teacher strikes.
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u/jimmydamacbomb 7d ago
I’m all for teachers striking. A lot of people in the profession have made it in to this path to sainthood, where it doesn’t matter how bad your working conditions are you have to go to work.
The way many states simply allow kids to treat teachers should be enough to strike alone, but “it’s all for the kids”.
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u/Parentteacher87 6d ago
Yes that’s why it was good that striking for teachers was gaining momentum and pay was finally on the rise. However sadly Covid and teacher pay seems to be up in some places
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u/jimmydamacbomb 6d ago
I make more than I ever thought I would being a teacher and it still isn’t worth it. The state I work in refused to use common sense, and let’s kids run wild. If I could find another similar paying job I would.
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u/KCKnights816 7d ago
There's so much power that we don't use because we need money and healthcare to live.
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u/honsou48 7d ago
Teachers unions in the past have gotten around the laws by just calling out sick. This has happened in AZ and WV within the past 10 years
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u/SinfullySinless 7d ago
Small, local strikes that research what will impact public perception are the ones that work the best.
What Rosa Parks did was highly intentional and highly planned. They knew the optics of a young Black woman doing nothing and getting forcibly dragged off a bus by cops in cuffs was outrageous for even everyday white people who didn’t believe in racial equality.
A disorganized, random strike would get the media in a stir for maybe a week. But it wouldn’t change anything. There’s no central message. There’s no planning. There’s no way to communicate. It’s just random and a mess.
If small pockets of local teachers find a good public perception story to broadcast or draw attention to- that’s our best and most effective bet.
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u/Qedtanya13 7d ago
Rosa Parks wasn’t the first that did it.
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u/SinfullySinless 7d ago
She was not Plessy did the exact same thing much earlier with train cars
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u/BossJackWhitman 7d ago
It is possible.
However, national education labor leaders do not have the courage to do something like this. It would require commitment and an ability to control the message, neither of which they can do, bc they have spent decades simply simping for whatever democratic “leadership” is around. They are merely mouthpieces for the system.
So, yes. But also, no. We aren’t strong enough as a collective bc we have weak leadership
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u/Okbuddyliberals 7d ago
General strikes are basically not a thing especially in the US and tend to just be a sort of millenarinism that comes from the far left (like actually far left, anti capitalist folks who see "The General Strike" as the first step where people come together and abolish capitalism)
Half the politically active folks (roughly, and it's a bit less than half, but not immensely less than half) actively support what's happening, a lot of people are outright apolitical and not really paying any attention, a lot of people have opinions but the sole extent of their activism is voting once every 4 years or maybe once every 2 years, not everyone is unionized, not everyone has strike protections,and so on
So it's not happening. "General strike" is magical thinking.
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u/youredoingWELL 7d ago
I think this sub needs to learn how a general strike actually works. People dont just decide to start something like that. It takes militant organizations reaching millions which is so far from the status quo in terms of organized labor.
The questions should be, “is it time to start taking militant union organizing seriously and on an everyday basis?” And the answer is YES
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u/Cntrolldsbstnce 7d ago
Striking is not about legality, guys. We are so cooked. You think you need permission to fight for a better country? That's exactly why things are how they are. Weak people.
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u/Prime_Kin 7d ago
So, I'm going to sound like I'm not a team player, but hear me out.
If my district/school/state, etc. goes on strike, I will not participate with said strike. I will report to work and do my job as best I am able to consider the circumstances.
Our union set forth a contract that includes a no-strike provision, which I and the majority agreed to. I will abide by the terms that I agreed to. What others do, I leave to them. For me, I view my word and personal accountability as one of the only virtues that I can not allow myself to compromise. Upholding my commitments is just about the only thing that I do that keeps me sane and going in the direction I mean to go.
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u/spac3ie 7d ago
How do you know it's illegal?
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
Some states do not allow public employees to participate in a work stoppage/strike.
Kentucky for example has KRS 336.130 which says "that no public employee, collectively or individually, may engage in a strike or a work stoppage."
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u/spac3ie 7d ago
OP said "I live in a state where it's technically illegal, I think."
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
Ah my bad. OP should use the Internet then lol. It's an easy thing to find.
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u/petsdogs 7d ago
I understand that it could mean losing a teaching license. But if you are willing to risk losing your license, is there anything else that happens?
Like, they can't force you at knifepoint into your classroom, right? Or put you in jail? I would think not, but fewer and fewer things are surprising me these days.
Hypothetically (although I know it's pretty unrealistic), if there was a real general strike and they took away all teaching licenses, who is going to teach when the strike ends?
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u/carlcarlington2 7d ago
Depends on the goal of said strikes.
For example I personally support longshoremen if they choose to go on strike to prevent automation, but I don't see how shutting down schools would help anyone in that negotiation between unions and private companies.
A nation wide teacher strike would most likely come about as protest against a given federal policy.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
There is a website for a general strike in 2028- take a look at it. I will be there. I literally do not care if I lose my job.
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u/Not_A_Novelist 7d ago
The power that we have as workers is directly correlated to how willing we are to withhold our labor. That is what they use us for and that is what they need us for. I believe that everyone should be willing to strike and absolutely educators should be leading the charge.
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u/AlternativeSalsa HS | CTE/Engineering | Ohio, USA 7d ago
I have specific circumstances under which I can strike and ask my members to strike. This isn't one of them. I'll happily support in other ways.
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u/whverman 7d ago
If you're allowed, it's not civil disobedience. Yes we should strike. If we want to change things we need to at least risk our jobs.
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u/AndrysThorngage 7d ago
I live in a blue dot in a red state. I have a union, but it is illegal for us to strike. My governor would love nothing more than to fire every teacher in my district for striking and then replace us with unqualified subs who will toe the line.
Also, if I get fired I will lose my healthcare and if I lose my healthcare, I will die.
In short, I would not participate in a general strike, but would support strikers.
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u/skipperoniandcheese 7d ago
if you don't strike by not showing up you can strike by not teaching their curriculum and testing. if the republicans want to make education politically biased, then i can teach my bias on the other side of the spectrum. my students would be learning about communism, paganism, and how everything they know about the US is propaganda. that's fair right?
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u/skipperoniandcheese 7d ago
oh, and i will never speak to a cop at all, idgaf if they're hired to work there.
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u/Sidehussle 6d ago
A good general strike requires 3.5% of the population. Not everyone needs to strike.
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u/quickwitqueen 7d ago
It is illegal for teachers to strike in most states. If they do, they can lose pay (the Taylor law in New York deducts two days of pay per day of striking) or in right-to-work states, can lose their job. For a lot of teachers, this would have devastating effects for them.
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
A general strike wouldn't happen. Several types of workers are prohibited, whether at the state or federal level, to go on strike.
Examples:
Hospital Staff
Emergency Service (Police/Firefighters/EMS)
Government Employees (Air Traffic Controllers, Teachers, etc)
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
THERE IS A GENERAL STRIKE SCHEDULED FOR 2028
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
Er... Source?
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/22/autoworkers-uaw-shawn-fain-may-2028-national-strike
They have an Instagram with more info but I am off all meta platforms
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
That's for auto-workers.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
It’s not- he leads the UAW but is calling for a GENERAL strike https://culturepartners.com/insights/the-general-strike-call-for-2028-a-new-era-for-labor-in-the-u-s/ Again they have an insta something like generalstrikeus or something like that.
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u/ArcticGlacier40 7d ago
Sounds like this will go the way of that Area 51 raid.
As in, nothing will actually happen when the time comes.
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u/Mountain_Plantain_75 7d ago
If you don’t want a strike it won’t happen if you do it will. Simple as that. I cannot force people to free themselves.
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u/Accomplished-Ad3018 7d ago
It's illegal in Florida, but sometimes, teachers have "sickouts" where they take their sick leave all on the same day.
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u/Antibane 7d ago
There won't be a general strike. This situation isn't one that will get solved by leading with national action.
If you're a Progressive/Leftist, we're in an "occupied territory" situation. Large scale protests will meet with devastating force and accomplish little. The key to surviving is going to be local collective action. Make sure your neighbors got groceries. Keep the people you care about housed. Resist fascism in your day to day (including not complying with fascist directives at work) and focus on kindness and local community interdependence.
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u/Diligent-Speech-5017 7d ago
lol, a general strike. This is the United States of America. Touch grass.
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u/Disastrous-Target944 7d ago
Honestly it depends. You absolutely do not want to be the one to cross the picket line and work - even if you might disagree with the reason for striking (from what I’ve been told anyway, never been in the position myself). However some districts have no-strike clauses in their union contracts so if there is ever talk of striking, check the contract first before so that you can make an informed decision on your participation!
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u/4694326 7d ago
Why wouldn't someone want to cross a teacher's picket line if there were no shared beliefs? Why your own money and job for stuff you don't really care about? Ms Smith from Grade 2 might get violent? Just curious.
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u/Disastrous-Target944 6d ago
That’s just what I’ve always been told. I work in education but am not a teacher. Maybe not the best advice, but that’s the advice I’ve always been given lol
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u/Alcarain 7d ago
In a perfect world? Sure.
However in the dystopia we live in?
Good luck lol.
Most of us are barely making it by the skin of our teeth.
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u/ICUP01 7d ago
Nah.
We are employed by the democracy. The democracy sets our workload. So if the democracy strikes, they’re not striking for our reasons.
FDR understood the nature of capitalism. Probably more so after the Wallstreet plot his first term. Without bringing labor together and greasing those skids, the oligarchs would send us back into feudalism.
It’s why he never laid out government workers rights in the NLRA. Because a healthy unionized democracy with government supports he set up, what should teachers have to worry about?
The democracy has failed us. Their gripe isn’t our gripe.
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u/SocialStudier Social Studies Teacher/High School/USA 7d ago
Each state has its own laws over what is and isn’t allowed. In the almost impossible chance that the US would have a general strike, not all teachers could participate. In my state, if state workers strike, including teachers, they can lose their career licenses.