Public School Teacher Strikes are Intolerable
From Freedom Unaffiliated by Independence Institute
May 25, 2026 · 7 min · Season 3 · Episode 85
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications and morality of public school teacher strikes, particularly in the context of the recent strike in the Sheridan School District.
The recent strike by unionized public school teachers in the Sheridan School District finally ended after 28 days, Colorado’s longest teacher strike in 45 years. Private sector unionized employees have a legal right to strike, but government employees have more restrictions. Members of our armed forces are forbidden to unionize, collectively bargain, or strike for obvious national security reasons. In 1981, President Reagan declared a strike of unionized air traffic controllers illegal, gave them 48 hours to return to work, fired 11,000 who didn’t, and decertified the union. In 1937, President Roosevelt informed the president of the National Federation of Federal Employees that strikes by government workers are unacceptable because their employer is “the whole people” and “a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent to prevent or obstruct the operations of government until their demands are met.” The Sheridan teachers did have a legal right to strike, but not a morally justifiable one seriously disrupting the lives of innocent schoolchildren and their parents, holding them hostage to the union’s demands. When a grocery union strikes, customers can do…
Topics covered
- teacher strikes
- public education
- union rights
- government employees
- Colorado politics
Keywords
- teacher strike
- public school
- union
- Colorado
- government employees
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sheridan School District, National Federation of Federal Employees, Douglas County School Board
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