Teacher strikes are rare events in American public education. They were far more common in the mid- to late 20th century, after many states passed public-sector bargaining laws and local teachers’ unions grew. But even though teacher strikes are now less frequent than they once were, they still occur and — in the rarest of cases — have real effects on students and their teachers.
In a recent National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, researchers Melissa Lyon, Matthew Kraft, and Matt Steinberg investigate how teacher strikes affect educators, their classrooms, and students. They find that, on average, a one-day strike increases annual teacher compensation by about $10,000 (inflation-adjusted) and that these improvements are sustained over eight years following the strike. In addition, the study finds that teachers’ productivity improves during the strike, class sizes decrease by about half a student on average, and per-pupil spending on nonteaching support staff rises by seven percent.
These gains are important. They reflect the fact that teachers, who are mostly women and often primary caregivers, tend to be at the forefront of addressing the broader issues that impact their own families, students, and communities. In addition to the issues related to pay and work conditions, teacher strikes have also addressed “common good” issues, including affordable housing, immigration policy, and health care. In the most extreme cases, some teachers have decided to resign from their positions and join their colleagues on the picket line.