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 Arkansas, teachers' unions operate within the context of state laws that govern public sector employees, as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not apply to public school teachers. Arkansas does not prohibit collective bargaining for public employees, including teachers, which means that teachers' unions can engage in collective bargaining with school districts to negotiate contracts that cover salaries, benefits, working conditions, and other employment terms. However, it is important to note that while Arkansas allows collective bargaining, it does not have a comprehensive state statute that specifically addresses the collective bargaining rights for teachers. Additionally, Arkansas law does prohibit strikes by public employees, including teachers. This means that while teachers can organize and negotiate collectively through their unions, they are not legally permitted to strike as a form of protest or negotiation.