Thirty-eight states either do not recognize the right of public sector workers to strike or outright prohibit public sector strikes. The remaining twelve permit certain public sector workers to strike under state-specific conditions.
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 established the right of most private sector workers to strike but excluded public sector workers. States therefore exercise jurisdiction over the striking privileges of their public sector workers.
While laws vary among states, most explicitly ban strikes by essential workers such as teachers, firefighters and police.
However, public sector workers have periodically defied state law to go on strike. The 2018-2019 teachers’ strike wave resulted in significant victories for teachers unions in anti-strike states such as Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia.