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 Alabama, public school teachers are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, which governs private sector labor relations. Instead, public sector employees, including teachers, are subject to state laws regarding unionization and collective bargaining. Alabama does not have a comprehensive state statute that provides for collective bargaining rights for public school teachers. In fact, Alabama is one of the states that generally does not allow collective bargaining for public employees. While teachers can join professional organizations that advocate on their behalf, these organizations do not have the same collective bargaining powers as unions in states where such activities are permitted. Additionally, Alabama law prohibits strikes by public employees, which includes teachers. Therefore, in Alabama, teachers’ unions or associations may exist, but their ability to engage in traditional union activities such as collective bargaining and striking is significantly limited by state law.