Behind the Headline: Chicago Teachers On Strike, Affecting 400,000 Students

On Top of the News
Chicago Teachers on Strike, Affecting 400,000 Students
NPR| September 10, 2012

Behind the Headline
Strike Phobia
Education Next| Fall 2006

Teachers in Chicago went in strike this morning, shutting 400,000 students out of school. While the teachers had been offered a large pay raise, their union refused to accept changes in teacher evaluations, teacher tenure, and class size that the school board leadership wanted. In “Strike Phobia,” an article from the Ed Next archive, Rick Hess and Marty West argued that teacher strikes might sometimes be a good sign for education. “The public’s aversion to conflict, combined with the political heft of teacher unions, can make school boards unduly deferential to union demands,” they wrote, leading to labor peace that is actually bad for education.

-Education Next

Last Updated

NEWSLETTER

Notify Me When Education Next

Posts a Big Story

Business + Editorial Office

Program on Education Policy and Governance
Harvard Kennedy School
79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone (617) 496-5488
Fax (617) 496-4428
Email Education_Next@hks.harvard.edu

For subscription service to the printed journal
Phone (617) 496-5488
Email subscriptions@educationnext.org

Copyright © 2024 President & Fellows of Harvard College