A teachers’ union is a labor union (an organized group of employees) that represents teachers or educators in contract negotiations (for salaries, tenure, paid time off, and other terms of employment) with schools or school districts. Teachers’ unions are said to engage in collective bargaining—bargaining or negotiating on behalf of all teachers—rather than individual teachers negotiating their own employment terms.

The rights of workers to form unions, strike, bargain collectively, and engage in other work-related activities are provided by the federal statute known as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA). The NLRA also prohibits unions from trying to force workers to join a union and prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who exercise their union rights.

The NLRA supersedes many state laws but it does not apply to employees in the public sector—including public school teachers. Some states have laws that prohibit collective bargaining for public employees (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia) and many states have laws that make it illegal for public employees to strike.

In Alaska (AK), public school teachers are allowed to form and join teachers' unions, which engage in collective bargaining on behalf of their members. While the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) sets forth the rights of workers to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, it does not apply to public sector employees, including public school teachers. Instead, public school teachers in Alaska are governed by state statutes that permit collective bargaining. Alaska Statute AS 23.40.070 to AS 23.40.260, known as the Public Employment Relations Act, provides the framework for public employee unions to engage in collective bargaining with their employers. This includes the right to negotiate wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. Additionally, Alaska does not have laws that prohibit collective bargaining for public employees or make it illegal for them to strike, unlike some other states. However, any specific restrictions or provisions regarding strikes would be outlined in state law or individual employment contracts.