Can You Go On Strike In Texas Without Repercussion?

I'm not really sure why, but I went down a rabbit hole one day and looked into strikes in Texas. Yes, the kind where you stand outside a business with a picket sign trying to get better wages or working conditions.

It really kind of started when it looked like Pantex may end up striking due to their contract negotiations. I was curious as to what would happen if they did since they were unionized.

It led me to a few things. One, I already was aware that a strike typically only happens if the employees are part of a union. There are certain protections there for the workers so they feel a bit more comfortable hitting the picket line.

There are also some financial protections for them during a strike, which is an obviously important thing as they still have families they need to care for.

What happens though if you strike in Texas and you are NOT protected by a union? Are you even allowed to strike at that point?

The long and short of it is yes, you can absolutely strike if you want to. There is no law that says you cannot go out and picket for better wages, working conditions, health insurance, etc. There is one major difference here though.

Texas is what is called a right-to-work state. This allows employers to do numerous things such as pay out lower wages and not cover as much of the health insurance costs that employees have to pay.

It also means that if you're to strike, you could very well lose your job. Making things worse, you could lose it and not get unemployment benefits as your employer could say you abandoned your job.

In other words, you will have been fired with cause, and if that happens, employers have the right to decline unemployment to you. It's a very slippery slope for employees. There are a few advantages to right-to-work status, however the negatives far outweigh the positives.