The Denver, CO teachers went on strike yesterday. There is little doubt that the action wasn't something that anyone wanted least of all those very people in the classroom. Teachers know, understand and are willing to make up the lost days.
Though I'm not a huge strike advocate (I prefer to talk things out...negotiate) but the reason(s) educators strike often has much more to do with learning/teaching conditions than money. Pay is a critical element in any negotiation but in today's world other factors have become much more prominent when a strike action occurs.
Often teachers need to hammer out details on class size, the composition of classes with paraprofessionals, supply budgets, provisions for students with a variety of special needs, health care/insurance benefits, the combining of multiple courses in one class period and much more. These issues rarely make the front page of the news in the city/town/village where the strike is occurring.
Too often the term 'strike' to those who are ill informed simply means teachers want more money. A closer and more in-depth look at what is taking place in a particular school reveals a different scenario, one that goes beyond the paycheck.
Dick
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