After contentious strike in Newton, half of polled state residents say they support legalizing teacher strikes

Public opinion is on the side of legalizing the right for teachers to strike, according to a recent poll. 

According to a Commonwealth Beacon/GBH News Poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group, 50 percent of residents favored legalizing teacher strikes while 34 percent said strikes should remain illegal. 

“Even though strikes are disruptive and inconvenient for families, the polling suggests people in Massachusetts recognize that the ability to strike is a primary point of leverage that teachers have,” said Richard Kahlenberg, director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute according to The Commonwealth Beacon. 

For Massachusetts teachers, although it’s illegal to strike in the state as public sector employees, these last few years have been chalked full of walkouts and shutdowns and an increased teachers union tenacity.

Strikes have occurred in five Massachusetts school districts in just two years. The most recent strike in Newton, which began on Jan. 19, was the longest in the state since 2022. 

The strike shut down Newton schools for 11 days, ending in a contract approved by the Newton Teachers Association that would improve compensation, family leave, and mental health support for students.

The results of the poll also indicated that younger people were far more in favor of legalizing strikes, with 64 percent of people aged 18-29 in favor of making strikes legal. This is in contrast to 39 percent of those 60 and older. 

The majority opinion in favor of legalizing these kinds of strikes also comes at a time when public opinion, according to Gallup polling, is on the side of unions in general. 

“I think teachers are generally one of the professional groups that have a lot of latent trust among the public, maybe up there with physicians,” said Hartney, author of the 2022 book How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, and American Education.