2019 Sees Resurgence of Teacher Strikes

Teacher strikes that saw hundreds of thousands of teachers walk out of classrooms in 2018 made a comeback in 2019, according to numbers recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In January and February, 203,900 and 121,200 workdays were missed by teachers in the U.S. respectively. This is only counting strikes of 1,000 or more educators per day, which are registered with the BLS. In March and April, less educators went on strike.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos commented teachers’ strikes were putting students at a disadvantage and said teachers should engage in action during off-hours. Teacher union representatives lashed back at DeVos, saying that budget cuts by the Ministry of Education and low salaries were the real disruptors to teaching children in America.