The teachers strike is in full swing. It’s a high-intensity, high-risk tactic that can be effective in pushing back against a culture that many feel fails to treat educators as professionals. But to go on strike, teachers must be convinced that they are fighting for important, worthwhile objectives; that those objectives can’t be achieved through other means that are not as high-intensity and high-risk; that the goals of the strike have broad community support; and that the solidarity among the striking educators is strong enough to sustain the action.

Compensation is the most common issue driving teacher strikes, with 89 percent of teachers seeking pay raises. Other issues include education quality, with 59% of teachers demanding improvements to the classroom environment such as smaller class sizes, more educational expenditures, and more non-instructional staff. And a minority of strikes, especially those that are coordinated by state unions (like the Red for Ed strikes in 2018), focus on social justice issues such as immigration reform and affordable housing.

During a strike, teachers typically walk out of their schools and stop working all duties besides classroom instruction. That can mean refusing to answer student emails, grading over the weekend, and planning lessons before school. It also might include canceling field trips, advising student clubs, or shutting down after-school activities. Some teachers also use a strategy known as “work-to-rule,” where they only perform tasks required by their contracts and turn down voluntary assignments.