Introduction

Why are teachers, police officers, and firefighters

refusing to strike? In the text Why Is It Rare for Public
Sector Workers to Go on Strike, it states Today, public
sector strikes are very rare even when they are legal.
These are the types of workers who need better pay,
better working conditions and better benefits. While
many public workers should seek fair rights and strike,
public workers should not strike because it affects too
many people and it becomes too dangerous.
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One of the major reasons strikes should be prohibited
is it affects too many people. According to What Is a
Strike?, Workers will strike if they cannot come to an
agreement with their employer or change their
employers policies by using other means. Therefore,
many workers have union leaders that will protect those
rights and help them get what they want. After the school
bus strike in New York City, many school bus drivers
refused to work. For instance, Forty percent of the buses
were running Wednesday, the city said, because they are
not driven by members of the striking Amalgamated
Transit Union (Christian Science Monitor). Parents felt
frustrated because they had to find alternate
transportation and the city because they had to
reimburse students.
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Another key point to emphasize is strikes become

way too dangerous or risky. In the article titled, What Is a
Strike?, it says, Strikes are the most effective way that
workers can use their strength as a group to improve
their working conditions. While this may be true to union
leaders, strikes can often lead to damaging
consequences. To clarify, Mia Lewis explains what
happened during a police station strike in Boston in 1919.
Criminals went on a rampage after police refused to
work (Mia Lewis). Consequently, this could have resulted
in a mob situation or the entire city shutting down. Also,
the public were not pleased and the unions reputation
suffered as a result. A similar situation happened in New
York City when school bus drivers did not show up to work
(Stacy Khadaroo) and the teacher strike in Chicago. Since
these people work for the public and the public pays for
their salary, they are the decision makers on whether or
not public workers receive pay increases. Furthermore, to
win the strike they must convince an entire community or
city. This not only becomes a headache for teachers and
police officers but it also could put a whole community at
risk.
Conclusion:
It is important to realize all worker should obtain fair
and equal rights, however, at what cost? Evidence proves
there is more consequences and negative effects on an
entire city and community since public employees work
for many different people. To put it another way, public
workers should consider and weigh the risks involved in
refusing to work. Therefore, public workers should not
strike.