The Goal

Baltimore Teachers Union is working in coalition with education and public sector unions, community groups and families to repeal the Maryland No Strike law for PreK-12 public school employees and public library employees (except Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, due to their charters). 

In the late 1960s, teachers and paraprofessionals were among the first public sector workers to earn collective bargaining in Maryland, while in contrast, library workers are among the most recent, winning collective bargaining in 2023. Our legislative effort to repeal the No Strike law reflects a combination of established union advocacy and energizing new organizing, allied with parents, patrons and community to protect public services and expand workers’ rights. 

We strive to have a bill heard during the 2026 Legislative Session. Our primary sponsor in the House of Delegates is Delegate Eric Ebersole.

The Impact

We believe that all public sector workers, including Maryland school employees and library workers, should have the right to strike. The right to strike gives workers more bargaining tools and increases their power at the negotiating table. The right to strike is especially important because public school employees and library workers create the places and experiences where Marylanders learn and grow from infancy to old age.

PreK-12 public school employees and public library employees are the lead advocates for improving Maryland’s learning conditions. In order for us to better secure the conditions our communities deserve in public schools and libraries, employees in both settings need all the tools in their bargaining toolbox. Having the right to strike gives students’ and library patrons’ primary advocates more leverage at the bargaining table, which leads to better learning conditions and outcomes for our students (better resourced schools and libraries, more materials, more support, libraries/librarians in every school, smaller class sizes, etc.).

Research & Rationale

• Thirteen states allow public sector employees to strike: California, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. 

• Strikes don’t close schools or cause long term learning loss. In most cases, and especially in larger districts, schools stay open during strikes. Teacher strikes in the US last a median of 2 days, and there is no long-term evidence of strikes negatively impacting student achievement (Lyon, et al., 2024).

• Making strikes illegal doesn’t prevent them. When workers are organized and fed up, they go on strike whether it’s legal or not. Almost three-quarters of teacher strikes in the US happen in places where they are illegal.

• Strikes are a tool to protect public service and fight for economic justice. Without the right to strike, employers can delay solutions and make promises without consequences. The right to strike leads to more meaningful bargaining because both sides have skin in the game. Not having the right to strike leads to bad bargaining.

• When We Fight, We Win. Strikes have won major improvements across the country, including smaller class sizes, more nurses and librarians, higher wages for support staff, and more services for homeless students. In libraries across the country, librarians on strike have fought to defend patrons’ First Amendment rights and to address staffing shortages, in addition to higher wages and better working conditions. 

Lyon, Melissa Arnold, Matthew A. Kraft, and Matthew P. Steinberg. (2024). The Causes and Consequences of U.S. Teacher Strikes. (EdWorkingPaper: 24-1032). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/kvjt-mz02 

Support Needed

Join the weekly coalition virtual meetings on Thursdays at 6:00pm.

For more information, email info@baltu.org.