Revitalizing the role of relative deprivation: An analysis of contemporary teacher protest strike emergence

Abstract

This article examines the role of relative deprivation in contemporary teacher protest strikes. I specifically focus on the 2018–2019 unprecedented U.S. K-12 teacher strike wave. Through data generated from analyses of 35 semi-structured interviews with teachers who were also leaders of their local protest strike, I find that the role of relative deprivation in these strikes is complex. Specifically, I find that only relative deprivation experienced with nearby reference groups was described as leading to protest strike emergence but that all types of relative deprivation were used as an effective framing strategy to garner support and bring more teachers on board once the activism was underway. This paper revitalizes a consideration of relative deprivation as an important theory in understanding protest strike emergence and gives a better understanding of the impetus of this wave of teacher activism.