Allhands: If Arizona teachers strike, here's how they should do it

3 ways for teachers to strike effectively

1.      Walk out en masse –  and stay there. Arizona’s teacher shortage is already acute, with nearly 2,000 teachers lacking a permanent teacher. If at least a dozen teachers in each school strike, districts would have no choice but to cancel school, because there wouldn’t be enough subs to fill in. And believe you me, that would strike a fire under elected leaders’ hides to act.

A heavy, steadfast turnout also might minimize the chance that teachers would be punished for striking. If thousands of teachers walk out across the state, what are districts going to do? Fire or demote them all? And replace them with whom?

2.      Make sure charter schools are equally on board. If only district schools shut down, foes will use that as a wedge to divide teachers. They’ll paint charter school employees as more dedicated to their students. And that could backfire on the district teachers who walk out. For this to work, teachers from charter and district schools must be equally represented on the picket lines.

Source: azcentral