How Do Teacher Strikes Impact Compensation, Working Conditions, and Student Achievement in U.S. Public Schools?

This study examines how teacher strikes impact teacher compensation, working conditions, and student achievement in U.S. public schools. Using a dataset of 772 teacher strikes between 2007 and 2023, researchers found that, on average, strikes increased teacher compensation by 8% (about $10,000) within five years and lowered pupil-teacher ratios by 0.5 students. These gains were funded primarily by increased state revenues rather than reallocations. While no substantial impacts on student achievement were found in most cases, strikes lasting two or more weeks reduced math achievement by 0.03-0.05 standard deviations in the year following the strike​​.

Central Research Question

The research paper investigates the effects of teacher strikes on compensation, working conditions, and student achievement in U.S. public schools. Amid a resurgence of teacher strikes, the study aims to clarify whether strikes lead to tangible improvements in teacher pay, class sizes, and student outcomes, as well as to explore the channels through which these changes are funded. This question is significant, given the unique dynamics of public-sector strikes and the critical role teachers play in student learning and overall educational quality.

Previous Literature

The paper builds upon a broad literature exploring labor activism and its impacts, particularly within the education sector. Historically, labor union strength in the U.S. has declined since the 1970s, but recent waves of activism, led by teachers, have revived interest in strikes as tools for securing workplace benefits. Existing research, much of it international, suggests that teacher strikes can negatively impact student outcomes due to lost instructional time. However, evidence from the U.S. is sparse, with the majority of prior studies focusing on longer strikes outside the U.S. This study uniquely contributes by assessing the outcomes of U.S.-specific strikes, which are generally shorter and occur in various contexts with diverse funding mechanisms. Additionally, the literature suggests that public-sector strikes differ significantly from private-sector ones due to funding and political complexities; strikes in the public sector are influenced by factors like state budgets and public opinion rather than profit maximization.

Data

The study relies on a novel dataset of 772 teacher strikes in the U.S. across 27 states from 2007 to 2023. This dataset includes details such as strike dates, duration, locations, and stated motivations, categorized into compensation, working conditions, and “common good” issues like affordable housing or broader social welfare policies. The researchers compiled this data through extensive review of news articles, education databases, and union records. Additional data sources include the Common Core of Data (CCD) for district-level financial and demographic information and the Stanford Education Data Archive for standardized test scores, which provide measures of academic performance across U.S. districts. Economic indicators, such as district-level poverty rates and unemployment rates, were used to control for socioeconomic factors, ensuring a robust analysis.

Methods

The study employs an event study framework with differences-in-differences (DiD) estimators, comparing districts with strikes to those without, to assess causal impacts. This method isolates the effects of strikes on wages, working conditions, and student achievement over time by controlling for trends within both striking and non-striking districts. The analysis focuses on changes observed in the five years following a strike, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of both immediate and sustained effects. Recognizing that strike impacts may differ based on factors like duration, the authors also perform subgroup analyses, examining whether longer strikes produce distinct effects compared to shorter ones. Additionally, the study leverages a doubly robust DiD estimation approach to address potential biases associated with treatment timing and heterogeneity in strike effects, ensuring reliable, nuanced estimates.

Findings/Size Effects

Teacher Compensation

The study finds that teacher strikes significantly improve teacher compensation. On average, teacher salaries and benefits increase by approximately 8% (around $10,000) within five years after a strike. These gains are gradually implemented over the post-strike period, reflecting typical multi-year pay increase schedules in school districts. Both teacher salaries and benefits see substantial increases, with salary rising between 5% and 8% ($3,000–$7,000) and benefits by 6%–9% ($2,700–$3,400) on average. Importantly, these increases appear to stem from new state revenues allocated to districts rather than from reallocation of existing resources.

Working Conditions

Teacher strikes also lead to improvements in working conditions. Pupil-teacher ratios, a measure of class size, decrease by about 0.5 students, or 3.2%, within five years. Additionally, expenditures on non-instructional staff, who support teaching, increase by roughly 7%–10%, suggesting that some of the gains in working conditions are directed towards broader school support infrastructure. This improvement in working conditions reflects an increase in district spending driven primarily by state funding rather than local taxes, highlighting the public-political leverage teacher unions can exert during strikes.

Student Achievement

Interestingly, the study finds no significant impact of teacher strikes on average student achievement in math or reading in the years following a strike. These null findings are consistent across multiple grades and subject areas, suggesting that short-term lost instructional time from strikes may not substantially affect overall academic outcomes in the medium term. However, when examining strikes lasting 10 days or more, the study does identify short-term negative impacts on math achievement, with declines of 0.03–0.05 standard deviations (SD) in the year following the strike. These effects, however, are not sustained beyond the immediate aftermath, as no long-term impacts are observed in subsequent years.

Conclusion

This study makes important contributions to the understanding of teacher strikes in the U.S., illustrating that strikes can be an effective means for teachers to secure pay increases and improvements in working conditions, particularly through political advocacy that attracts new state funding. Although teacher strikes achieve measurable gains in compensation and class size, they do not appear to have significant medium-term effects, either positive or negative, on student academic outcomes. The findings suggest that, while strikes may temporarily disrupt instruction, the impacts on student achievement are minimal or offset by later adjustments, such as extending the school year or cancelling breaks.

The paper’s findings underscore the strategic role teacher strikes can play in public-sector labor negotiations. By signaling the need for increased educational funding to the public and to state policymakers, strikes can catalyze new revenue streams that address long-standing concerns over teacher pay and support staff levels. This research offers valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and labor economists, highlighting how public-sector strikes differ from those in the private sector and emphasizing the potential of teacher activism to influence educational policy and funding structures in the U.S.

Citation

Lyon, Melissa Arnold, Kraft, Matthew A., & Steinberg, Matthew P. (2024). The Causes and Consequences of U.S. Teacher Strikes. NBER Working Paper No. 32862. National Bureau of Economic Research. DOI: 10.3386/w32862​.