Former Union Organizer Pitching for a Tennessee Teacher Strike
Union-favored forces in Tennessee are hinting at an illegal teacher strike in the Volunteer state. If there is a strike, it will be certain Professional Educators of Tennessee members will not be on the picket lines. Check out the story in The Tennessee Star.
Now, a new activist group seeking to encourage teachers to engage in a work stoppage in Tennessee, has some policy makers wondering whether a teacher strike could happen sooner rather than later. In fact, the Tennessee Education Report, run by liberal Democrat activist Andy Spears, appears to be encouraging a teacher strike in the state with four recent “calls for action.”
Teacher strikes have been illegal in Tennessee since 1978, but they are also unlawful in other states where teachers walked off their jobs. Teachers in Tennessee who participated in a strike would be subject to discipline, up to and including the loss of their jobs. Last year, when the prospects of a teachers’ strike in Tennessee arose, Tennessee Education Association (TEA) lobbyist Jim Wrye dismissed the threat posed by Tennessee law saying that if a large number of teachers walk off the job “you can’t fire everybody.”